Mage had never seen a desert as vast as the one that the Serpentine called their home. While he was able to withstand the heat thanks to the elements of water and fire inside of him, he had never thought that anyone would want to live here. Even in his own World, the only deserts were small and isolated, with plenty of pockets of water to lay over and for the weary traveler. Here, there was nothing but a vast expanse of sandy brown, and the gusts of wind that blew massive brown waves across it.
The boy had spent the better part of the day and into the night tracking. It was at this moment that Mage lay against a small tree nearby a fountain of water, the only one for the last three miles he had sped through. He guessed he was maybe a three hour walk north from Ouroborus. There seemed to be no sign of Skales nor Ophiod. Mage didn't expect for there to be, given that they could seemingly be anywhere they wanted to be at any moment. But right now, he wanted to find them.
As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, the words Aspheera spoke to Mage weighed on him as he looked up towards the tree swaying lazily above his head. It was a thin and scrawny one, barely providing a hint of shade under it. He'd set up a small fire using the dead underbrush of the area, lit with his eyes turning red. He leaned forward towards it, using its warmth to protect him from the soon to be frigid land of this vast Sea of Sand.
Mage knew that this plan was going to be it. There was no other way for them to win, no other solution to their fight. If this plan didn't work, they would be doing nothing more than putting a dagger against their throat and asking them to use it. Or, that was what Lady Camille would say. Maybe even Ash. Regardless of who it was that was saying it, though, it was true. This was to be their last battle.
And that left Mage in a standstill. His head swarmed with too many thoughts to fully parse. What would he do if it came down to Ophiod refusing to stand down from the Twins? What about Prime? And Oni? Even now, after all they'd done, he didn't want to hurt them. If he hurt them, then what would Aspheera say? And even then, what was he to do about everything else? How was he to fight the Twins, after losing so much already?
Mage raised his hand up to the starlight that was forming above his head, summoning his Time Matrix around his left hand. He knew he would have to give everything in battle. He had to help them in whatever way he could. Yet here he was, relying on a sword to do his work for him. Here he was, waiting for someone else to do the work for him. Even if he had reconciled with his friend, Mage didn't know if he could truly use his Time Matrix. The Twins had always had the advantage of Time. Time Blades, Time Matrix, the Iron Doom's ability to travel in time, and now they had a fully reformed timeline just for them to live in. They were only alive because of the Twins deciding it wasn't time for them to die yet. The thought of using those powers against them, just like he already had… it sickened him. If it came down to it… could he stop them?
Mage rolled over again. Those thoughts weren't helping. He needed to decide on what to do right now. If Skales and Ophiod weren't here right now, then it wasn't any use in sticking around. He should just get back to his friends already. He should, he knew it. But at the same time, he was lying against the tree already. He was relaxed and tired.
...He didn't want to go back right now. Not at least until he'd gotten some rest. So, slowly, Mage turned his eyes yellow, reflecting light along his body until he had completely camouflaged into his surroundings. With his body fully coated in that reflective paint, a trick that he'd picked up watching some hunters in the Light Tribe use to hide from prey they hunted, he closed his eyes, and steadied his breathing.
It was only a minute later that Mage felt a blade to his neck.
"You're a fool," Skales hissed out, the blade in his hand, "Not even being a child is enough to forgive how stupid you were to come here."
Mage didn't move. Instead, all he did was slowly drop the shield of light he had around his body, in turn exposing himself to the snake. He remained totally stiff as Skales held that glistening, regal-looking golden blade he carried so confidently to his neck.
"Why are you here?" Skales demanded, "Tell me now before I decide it isn't worth asking."
Mage gave a small exhale, "Looks like you took the bait."
Skales blinked. Mage couldn't help but smile. The other part of the trick of Light Tribe hunters was allowing their prey to still smell them and investigate. Once they were close, it was just a matter of dropping the disguise and attacking. He knew if those two were around, they would come to him. It'd been a gamble, but it paid off.
"It's unwise to talk back to someone who has you at swordpoint," Skales growled out, ignoring the fact he'd been deceived, "Don't make me ask again. Why did you come here?"
Mage didn't answer. Instead, he twisted two fingers down, touching the patch of the dirt the tree had grown from. Before Skales could react, the ground shot up from under his left foot, unbalancing him. Skales was thrown back, just in time for Mage to scramble out and yank Aevum out of its sheath beside him. He spun around, swinging the flat of the blade towards Skales' side.
Instead, Mage snapped to a frozen halt. Skales had his eyes glowing a deep red, his blade held up just an inch from where Mage's arm had frozen Aevum's swing solid. Skales continued to shower Mage's attention with that hypnotic snare, in turn keeping the boy completely still for him. The two stared at one another, yet Mage's breathing didn't change.
"Much better… " Skales nodded, his pupils never moving, "Why did you come here?"
"To see Queen Aspheera," Mage answered honestly. His pupils began to turn that deep shade of red.
"And?" Skales asked him.
"And… I came here to ask…" Mage groaned out, his body trembling in effort, "To… to ask her …"
Mage managed to turn his other hand to the side, releasing a wild jet of flame with what little control of his body he still had. The action was small, but it was enough to shock Skales. Mage's eyes were torn off of that hypnotic stare, shaking his head hard as he backed away from Skales. He scrambled out, grabbing Aevum from the ground again just as Skales recovered from the shock.
With a precise turn of his sword that Lloyd had taught him, Mage swung Aevum up, catching the edges built into that ceremonial-like blade Skales held, knocking it out of Skales' hand. The weapon was sent careening through the air to land on the sand behind him. Skales growled out, readying his stare again, only to be met with Aevum pointed at his head, inches from his face.
"Enough!" Mage frowned, "I don't want to hurt you!"
Skales remained frozen for a few moments. Mage slowly raised his head up, focusing on the yellow swirls on the side of Skales' head. Skales didn't attempt to use his power again, instead remaining still.
"I know you probably won't listen, but I'm not here to fight," Mage thought carefully about his words, "I want to help Ophiod."
Mage was hoping this would work. Skales went silent at that line, his eyes glowing in a different way. He had to talk to Skales, now more than ever. The silence was a good sign, one that made Mage momentarily hopeful. After a second, though, Skales lowered his head, hiding his eyes and bringing his nostrils closer to the blade still pointed at his head.
"Help him? There's nothing to help," Skales hissed out quietly, "Aside from the ones attempting to stop him… meaning you."
"You know as well as I do that he's hurting," Mage frowned, "I saw what he did to Over. I know he's upset, confused, he has to at least feel bad about what happened! Ophiod isn't a bad person, Skales, you know that!"
"Over?" Skales looked up, "What about Over?" There was no recognition in Skales' eyes.
Mage blinked in confusion, "He… didn't tell you?"
Skales was silent. There was a moment of long hesitation between the two of them. Skales looked as though he was parsing whether or not to believe Mage. In order to help that along, Mage lowered Aevum. Skales remained where he stood, his silence letting Mage hear the distant gusts of the last gasps of the hot desert winds.
Mage's hopes fell asthe Hypnobrai raised his head, his gaze still hard, "You're not going to make me yield with words alone, boy," Skales hissed, "Last time we spoke, I thought you were smarter than you seemed. But it looks like maybe I'm wrong. You are not a good liar."
"Why would I lie to you!" Mage frowned back at him, "Something is wrong with Ophiod, I know it. We have to help him, Skales. Ophiod attacked Over, I was there! He took my thing from me!" Mage gripped his wristband, "Skales, Ophiod is hurting, and we can't just-"
"We?" Skales growled, "Don't try to make us the same, boy. I've been tricked before. If your goal is to make me back down, you're not doing it well."
"I'm not trying to make you back down!" Mage protested, "I'm telling you to please, just let me show you!" Mage held his hand up, "I can show you my memory of what happened!"
"You think I'd ever let you in my head?" Skales spat, "You really are just an idealistic child!"
Skales lunged forward, knocking his shoulder into Mage's gut and leaping backwards. Mage shot his hand out, trying to pull Skales back towards him with a gust of wind. Instead, Skales dove out from the oasis and into the sand. He grabbed hold of his fallen blade, looking back towards Mage before he dove under the carpet of sand. Mage tried to reach out and grab him with gravity, yet before he could do anything Skales had slithered away, out of sight.
Mage looked down towards Aevum in his hand, a frown on his lips. He took a long while to take in the sensation, the emotions, all of it. And, after he turned back around, he let out a long sigh and picked up Aevum's hilt.
"I'm not stupid, Skales," Mage sighed, "I thought you would understand that."
With Skales escaped, Mage had no reason to stay around. If Ophiod was around, he couldn't afford to be ambushed. He didn't feel right, leaving this where he had, but he couldn't afford to risk being separated from the others any longer. He raised up Monty's device on his wrist, tapping it and causing a portal to form under his feet. Moments later, he was zipping off and away through the void and back home, the desert forgetting he was there as soon as the sands blew across the marks their small scuffle had left behind.
Not far away from the small oasis, Skales slowly rose up from the sand, looking towards a small campfire. Normally, diving under the sands like that was a Constrictic trick, yet Arcturus had trained him in the art of deception in combat. It had worked to his benefit to escape as well, after that boy had rattled his mind so much. His words were ringing in his head, even as he turned towards the one maintaining the fire.
Ophiod sat against a small patch of sand, his staff in hand and glowing. A small magical spell surrounded them, blocking the perception of the two. His tail was curled around firewood gathered earlier that day, slowly adding fuel onto the flames to keep them both warm against te cold air. As Skales walked over and sat down near the flames, Ophiod raised his head.
"I have told you not to go scouting again, Skales," Ophiod looked him down with a worried gaze, "You have only just now healed. You cannot afford to reopen your wounds."
"I don't have time to rest anymore," Skales shook his head, "I've healed already. My wounds weren't physical, so there's nothing more for you to worry about."
"I appreciate that you are so dedicated, Skales… I simply do not wish to look upon you like that again," Ophiod frowned, "Did you spot anyone on your search?"
Skales began to answer, then stopped. Slowly, he moved to sit down across from Ophiod, letting the red fire reflect on both of their faces. The Hypnobrai took his time to stare into Ophiod's gaze, attempting to parse the sudden suspicion that he felt in his gut. The boy's words, as foolish as they were, weren't leaving him alone. The question was now stuck in his mind: had Ophiod done something in the time he had spent healing from the last battle? And if so, why had Ophiod neglected to tell him?
"No," Skales lied, "There is no one," Skales raised his head, refusing to let on what he was thinking.
"Then it seems staying so close to home has paid off… as it is said, to hide from one's enemy, doing so where they expect is often best," Ophiod affirmed. Slowly, he turned and planted the scroll into the sands, reaching out and forming the perception-blocking spell in his hands. He reached down and drew a circle into the sand, sealing it with a small chant. The scroll stopped burning as Ophiod channeled his magic instead. The two would be imperceptible for some time now.
"Indeed," Skales nodded, "I'm surprised nobody came to look for us while you were watching over me. I'd have imagined you'd have seen them."
"Thankfully not," Ophiod shook his head. Skales frowned. Ophiod was hiding something with that line.
"Not even Over?" Skales asked, "You were the one that brought him down, if I recall." The name caused a momentary twitch in Ophiod's body that made Skales's suspicion flare up.
"I do not believe we will need deal with Over again for some time," Ophiod informed him, "... Prime is taking care of him. You know quite well how determined he can be."
Skales couldn't help but suddenly feel all of his worries come to light. So, the boy had been telling the truth. Ophiod was not one to hide his secrets well at all, especially not to the one that he had sworn the rest of his life to. And that alone made him far, far too curious to let it all go. But those worries would need wait until morning. Pressing now would gain him nothing more than if he did so when his mind was clear and his body rested.
"I see," Skales sighed, "Then, after we rest, we should talk to him again."
"Once our strength has returned," Ophiod affirmed, "Indeed."
Skales was silent. For a long moment, he wished to say something. He wished to ask more questions. But to ask more would betray that he had seen something himself. If Ophiod was to hide something from him, then Skales would do so in turn. For now, the snake slowly moved over to press his head into Ophiod's side, his eyes closing as he used the Viper for warmth. After a few moments, Ophiod's tail came to wrap around him, letting him to rest peacefully in the other snake's embrace as he drifted off to rest.
Find out how to disable the Iron Demise.
Morro's first reaction to those words had been one of shock and disbelief. He had no idea what they were asking him at first. Or rather, while he did, he couldn't believe that was what they were asking of him. It was written down on parchment, sent through a portal and likely left there discreetly so no one could tell they had left it. It'd been by chance he'd gone and checked if Monty had left him anything, as per his promise to help them. Yet that had been only half of what they asked:
Convince the Twins to recall their army from Mage's home.
One had been much to ask him, yet both? Morro was certain they were intending to get him killed or something worse. That meant it could only be Monty asking him to do this. The wording was straightforward and simple too, lending more credence to that fact. Now that he thought about it, he could hear Monty's voice inside of his head telling him to go and do it. He wouldn't be getting a way out of that.
Morro took his time to think about what those would mean. Disabling the Iron Demise… he already knew what needed to be done. The question, however, was just how he would be able to do it. That vile machine was being powered by his green power, taken from him just like they had done to Lloyd and Lulloyd's friends. If he could get that back, the machine would have no power to open whatever they used to travel worlds in.
Convincing the Time Twins to pull back their forces, however, was even more problematic. The Twins likely barely even remembered the fact they'd sent their forces to Mage's world by now. In a way, the Vermillion were self-sustaining in that sense. The Vermillion ran the army on their own, the Hive Mind giving them all they needed to sustain a campaign on all fronts. He would have to be clever if he wanted to go and do something like that.
For right now, Morro waited inside of the hallway underneath the Twins' thrones. He knew the spoils of their conquest were further down the hallway. He didn't want to look at them. He'd seen what it'd done to Harumi firsthand. If it was up to him, he'd have made sure she never knew about it. Better to wait until she was able to handle it than to thrust it right onto her.
As he stared at the note left for him, his thoughts drifted to their author. Monty… Morro couldn't get his thoughts away from him. Even now, he was thinking about these as requests from Monty, rather than all of them. It'd been a shock to see him again after all that time. He'd waited so long for someone to come and finally help him, finally give him something to hope for. And of course, it had to be the one person that hated him the most out of everyone else in every universe. He only had a few faint guesses as to why Monty hated him so much. But in the end, the ghost would always be a mystery to him.
Morro didn't have time to think about that anymore, though. He had to come up with a plan. The first thing he needed to do was get more information on the Iron Demise. He'd seen Lloyd break open the crystals that contained his power a long, long time ago. As long as Morro got close enough to the core of the Demise where the crystal was to break it, he'd be able to reclaim his power. That would be enough for him to deactivate the machine's universe-traveling ability. What he did after that, he didn't know. But first things first.
If Morro wanted to get that information, all he had to do was find a terminal somewhere in this tower and find blueprints for the machine. Acronix had caught him last time trying to find it, not that long ago. Despite that, the Twins had given him more or less full access to this place. They trusted him. Why they did made Morro feel disgusted inside, yet that wasn't his focus. The Twins would be off doing other things right now. Morro reached forward and opened the door in front of him, stepping out into the throne room.
The moment Morro did, he saw someone standing there. With a hushed motion only a trained ninja could make, Morro darted to the right and around the small lip the stairs up to the Krux's throne. Prime, standing with his back to the wall across the room, opened his eyes slowly at the shift in atmosphere and looked up.
Morro mentally admonished himself for his hubris. Prime was likely here to speak to the Twins. He should have accounted for that before he went to look for messages. He'd taken too long in planning his next move. Prime, sensing something was going on, stood up and began walking towards the thrones. If Prime saw him hiding like this…
Morro thought fast. He ran forward towards the pillars on the sides of the room, then he stood behind them. He waited for Prime to get close enough for him to see the ninja, then Morro stepped around from the pillar and cleared his throat.
"The Twins aren't here right now," Morro informed Prime, "What do you need with them?"
Prime stopped as soon as he saw Morro. When he did, Morro got a good look at him. Nothing about him looked different than he normally had. He was still in that green jumpsuit, his hair messy and curled up. Yet the more Morro looked at him, something didn't seem quite right about him. Something in his eyes.
"Where did you come from?" Prime asked. His tone was calm. Too calm.
"I've been here the entire time," Morro put his hands behind his back, "You must not have seen me."
"No… I've been here for awhile," Prime frowned, "Were you hiding from me?"
"I don't have a reason to hide," Morro frowned back at him.
Prime starred Morro down. The weight of his gaze felt like more than just him being curious. Morro suddenly felt like he was being interrogated, like Prime was demanding an answer from him. Morro stood straight up. He didn't want to appear as though he was trying to hide anything. Right now, he didn't trust Prime.
"You weren't in here when I got here," Prime whispered, "I came to report to the Twins. They haven't been answering their comms. I figured they must be busy with something."
"If you have something to tell them, I can relay it for you," Morro shook his head, "You made it your mission to hunt down Over, right?" Morro looked up pointedly, "If you completed it, I am happy to report it for you."
Prime's eye twitched. Seeing that confirmed Morro's suspicion as to why he was here. The remark was meant to anger Prime enough to turn and walk away. Instead, that look in Prime's eye just continued to deepen. Morro continued to meet it, even as his chest began to feel constricted with the confusion it brought him.
"You look like you want to do something," Prime suddenly smiled, "Maybe I can help you with that. I never mind helping an ally with their work."
"Who said I was on my way to do anything?" Morro asked.
"I've been around enough people to know when they want to do something," Prime chuckled, "And don't worry, I just want to help."
Morro frowned. Prime didn't trust him right now. "I need to transfer data from the uplink towers for the engineers," Morro lied, "It won't take me that long to do."
"It won't?" Prime cocked his head, "That's good. It'll be nice to kill time until they get back."
Morro didn't even know how long it would be until the Twins got back from whatever it was they did when they were gone. But he wasn't shaking Prime right now. He had to do this while the Twins weren't here. Between Prime and them, he knew which enemy he wanted to deal with. Morro gave him one long look, then just gave Prime a single nod.
That seemed to be all Prime needed. Morro turned and slowly made his way out the main door to the throne room. The nearest data terminal that he could use for information like that would be at the base of the tower. The terminals on the first floor held data the Vermillion soldiers would use to ensure they were up to date on all the information about the new vehicles and battle plans. One terminal specifically contained information on the Iron Demise. All he needed to do was get to it.
With that decided mentally, Morro walked through the halls. As he did, Prime stayed a single step behind him. The only noise the two made was their feet falling on the metal the floor shone up to them. The dull lights in the ceiling shone down on them as they walked.
The ride down the elevator, past the many, many tanks of snakes that were shown off proudly as though some sort of grand art display of power, Morro didn't focus on any of that, though. Instead, he just made sure Prime wasn't about to do something dangerous. It took them what felt like far too long to reach the bottom of the tower, and once they had, he moved down into a small hallway across the space to find the terminals.
As soon as the two entered the room, they were assailed by massive screens on the walls. Small pads scanned the eyes of the snakes as they walked up to small keyboards embedded in the walls, tapping on them and being given what they needed. This snake then turned and relayed the information to a platoon behind them via their Hive Mind, and they departed the room through other entrances.
Morro made his way to a terminal in the dead center of the room. Prime followed him. When they arrived, one of the new generals made for the exponentially expanding army had just finished with it. Before the system could close down, Morro slid into its place. The snakes, all having recognized him by this point or not questioning him, allowed him to.
"What are you looking for?" Prime asked him with a squint.
"I need information on the Iron Demise…" Morro answered honestly. If he hid anything, Prime would just get more dangerous to be around, "I need to know how many Vermillion it can fit."
"That's specific," Prime crossed his arms, "Are you sure that's all?"
Morro nodded his head, "That is all." For right now he went about typing away on the keyboard, scanning through files and going for what he could. The panel was normally reserved for generals, but the Vermillion were taught to understand the Ninjago language. Prime, however, was watching him like a hawk. Thankfully, Morro knew hawks well.
Morro leaned forward, sliding the removable drive -a small computer chip- he'd been caught using with Acronix into his palm. When he leaned forward to begin typing, he slid it into the terminal, his expression unchanging. Even if Morro wasn't the best with computers, he did know how to search through a wall of scrolls for his master. To throw Prime off of what he was looking for, he searched as quickly as he could for anything related to the Iron Demise. They had to have blueprints in there somewhere, some schematic or even a written account of it.
By the time that Morro finished finding what he needed, Prime was staring at him even harder. Without giving away what he was looking for, Morro had the system copy the files onto the external device. Without truly looking, he confirmed he had what he needed. The blueprints of the Iron Demise, more specifically the blueprints of the core where its crystal was. All of it was on the device he couldn't afford to let Prime see.
"That took awhile," Prime spoke down to him.
"This thing is built for Vermillion, not us," Morro nodded, "Let's go."
Morro knew he was playing a dangerous game telling Prime what he was doing. But as a ninja, he knew sometimes revealing his secrets was the best way to keep them. He nodded to Prime, making him turn around. Morro's hand swiped the chip in an instant, tucking the small chip into his palm. Another Vermillion came up to the terminal as the screen timed out, leaving him to scan his eyes and start retrieving his information. Prime waited for a small while, then he followed after them.
For one, Morro had accomplished his first objective. With the chip in his possession, he now just had to work on the second objective he'd been given. He just needed to find the Twins and…
As the two made their way back into the main section of the tower, Morro was stunned to see Acronix. The Twin appeared to have just walked inside from the main entrance. As soon as he saw the two of them, he changed his course to walk towards them.
"Ah, Morro, Prime!" Acronix smirked, "Just the two men that I wanted to see!"
Morro turned towards the Twins with a sense of relief in his eyes. He never thought he'd be happy to see such a horrible and twisted man, but for once he seemed to be the safer of the others in the room. Prime continued to stare down Morro, not tearing his gaze off Morro even as Acronix walked over and threw his arm around Prime.
"So, how's the mission going, Prime?" Acronix asked him, "You finally made him go back to the Dark Island, if you know what I mean?"
"I…" Prime shook his head, "He was supposed to come to me by now. He hasn't. I don't understand why…"
"Ohhh… that's a shame," Acronix sighed, his tone dripping with disappointment, "But hey, you'll get him eventually! Good things come to those that wait, they say. And you're really good at waiting, aren't you?"
"I am," Prime muttered, "I've waited for a long time for this. I'll wait however much longer it takes. I'll make it come faster if I have to."
"There's the spirit!" Acronix laughed, "I knew I liked you," He nodded, then looked to Morro, "How goes the Vermillion production, Morro?"
"Everything is going according to plan," Morro nodded, "I've not heard reports of any delays. The army grows each day." Just saying that made the pit in his gut from Prime grow even deeper.
"Exactly," Acronix winked, "What do you have there?" He gestured down to the small chip in Morro's hand.
The moment that he asked that, Prime's eyes narrowed. Morro felt his entire body locking up, eyes darting towards Acronix. He knew this moment was more dangerous than anything else. He could feel Prime's suspicion burning up against his back. He'd hoped he'd be able to hide the thing. He had to work with this development, and fast.
"He said he was retrieving data on the Iron Demise for you," Prime spoke with a dark twinge in his tone.
"Was he? I didn't order anything," Acronix shrugged.
"I was…" Morro had to think. Prime was looking ready to pounce on him. Those eyes that had burrowed so deeply into the Green Ninja were now looking ready to finally take him down. All the tension that Prime had hoisted on him was burning through him. Even Acronix was starting to look confused. Morro thought, and thought, and…
"...I came up with a plan, I wanted to finish it before I presented it to you, Acronix," Morro looked over towards him, "A plan to finally crush those other Twins that made you suffer so much already."
Prime's harsh, burning aura didn't cease. Acronix, however, blinked in surprise.
"Ohhhhh?" Acronix smirked, "My brother is going to want to hear this. Come with me, Morro. I'll take you to meet him."
Morro remained stoic and focused as the twin guided them up towards the elevator once again. Prime stopped looking at him directly, yet the power of his presence wasn't lost on Morro. He took his time in thinking about everything he was supposed to say to them. What the plan would be. Yet as they stepped onto the elevator and up towards the top floor again, Morro remained silent and didn't betray his thoughts.
Rather than going to the throne room, Acronix guided them instead to another small room, which opened up into a large planning room. Standing in the room were several Vermillion that bore resemblance to the other generals, yet were varying shades of orange and had unique armor from those two. Krux stood in the room, looking over a large table with a hologram of the Iron Demise on it. He seemed disgusted looking at it, but it was far too easy to use compared to paper, so for now he was letting it slide.
"Brother!" Acronix nodded his head as the three entered, "It seems that Morro has a plan for us."
"A plan?" Krux raised his eyebrow as Morro stepped forward to the hologram, "Whatever do you mean?"
Morro looked around. He felt as though he'd just walked right into the lion's den, even if he was used to living in their cage. Prime stood behind him, saying nothing and silently goading him into responding.
"Yes… it concerns crushing the ones that humiliated you during your campaign," Morro looked up, "The other Twins, in that weird world. I've been thinking about how we can trick them into exposing all their forces." Morro waited for validation.
"Go on," Krux nodded. Morro inhaled.
"Right now, Prime has failed to stop Over," Morro began, making Prime behind him blink in shock, "Which means we can assume they're all together right now. And the army reported seeing them. Right now, they must think they're holding out against the Vermillion."
"Yes, we have had some difficulty in suppressing them with the numbers we sent," Acronix turned to his brother, "Not that they stand a chance!"
"The squabbling of ants doesn't concern us… but finishing them off soon would be nice," Krux frowned, "What do you propose then, Morro?"
Morro took a deep breath, thinking very carefully about his next words, "We need to make them think they've won. I think we should pull back all the Vermillion we have deployed and let them think they've gotten a break."
"And… what good would that do?" Krux asked him curiously.
"We pull back the army and give them... " Morro thought fast, figuring out the most amount of time he could give his allies "One week."
Morro waited until that had sunk in to continue, "We wait one week to give them time to recover and think that they've won. Then, we deploy a smaller batch of Vermillion to a location they can all see. When they all go to try to crush them…" Morro looked up, "We show them the Iron Demise and make them see how worthless it was to ever resist you. We crush all of their forces right there."
Just saying all of that made Morro's gut twist up harder than ever before. The plan was exactly the type that the Twins could come up with. He'd been able to make it up so suddenly simply by telling himself to think like the Twins. And therefore, seeing their faces light up hearing that was like being told he'd done well for robbing someone. Even still, he forced that look of stoicism on his face, keeping himself perfectly normal to sell his plan.
"Hrmm… it does sound practical…" Krux rubbed his chin, "It would give our soldiers time to rest. And with how they've already pushed the Vermillion back already, it wouldn't be a hard sell to them. Yes, it is a rather devious tactic…"
"I like it!" Acronix nodded, "I really like it! Why, it's a good plan! Even if it doesn't work, just wiping out one of the tribes would demoralize the rest of them."
"Morro," Krux nodded, "You have once again shown us your initiative in this battle. I am assigning General Malcho to this operation," A deep orange Vermillion with curved shoulder armor stepped forward, "And in turn, as reward for your cunning, I will allow you to oversee this conflict."
"Thank you," Morro bowed his head, "I won't let this chance go to waste."
"I don't doubt it," Acronix waved his hand, "Go on then, begin your operation. Malcho will give the order to retreat once he arrives. We'll set you up to monitor the situation from here."
Morro gave them one final bow. With that, he turned and left the room. As he did, he passed by Prime, a look of rage in them. For now, Morro ignored them. Even if he'd had to act like the worst person to do it, he'd gotten the outcome that he wanted. In his hand, he held a device with the blueprints for the Iron Demise, and soon the snakes would retreat. He just hoped he'd given them enough time to prepare.
As soon as Morro left the room, Prime turned to look at the Twins. With a desperate step forward, he planted his hands on the table, making the hologram blink and flicker.
"Why did you do that?!" Prime shook his head, "Something is going on, he, you can't trust him, he's-"
Acronix put his hand up, "Prime, Prime. You think little of us if you think we couldn't tell that he's planning something."
"Then why?!" Prime turned to Krux, "Why did you let him leave?!"
"Because as long as he remains working for us, he knows it is foolish to move against us," Krux nodded, "If we stopped him now, I imagine that it would make his allies panic."
"You mean…" Prime gripped the table harder, "You're letting them get away with it?!"
"Moving before you know your enemy's full plan is foolish," Acronix sighed, "Surely you could understand at least that, Prime?"
Prime lowered his head, taking a deep breath. He took in his emotions, trying to force them back down. After a long while of making himself focus again, he slowly stood up, shaking his head at them as he did. Even then, that worried look refused to go away.
"You can't let your enemy get away, not even like that…" Prime frowned, "You can't."
"Then you should be out there stopping Over like you promised us," Acronix shrugged, "Lest you think we forgot about that detail."
"You are in our good graces now, Prime," Krux frowned, "But do not think we will wait forever. We granted your request, and you have failed to deliver."
"You are dismissed, Prime." Acronix waved his hand flippantly.
Prime felt his body light up with worry. Acronix just continued to smile at him, not giving him any chance to respond. After a long pause, Prime turned around, walking out of the room as calmly as he could. As soon as he was out of sight of the door, he put his hand on his head and scrubbed it into his hair.
"If you're going to do that then…" Prime frowned, "Then I'll do what I have to do too." Prime disappeared into the halls of the tower, his thoughts clouded. He had to do this. He had to. He had to keep at this. He had to win this.
"So!" Borg smirked happily, "You've returned to me for my aid again then, have you? How did my last invention fair? A smashing success, right, wasn't it?"
"That was… awhile ago…" Harumi gently rubbed the back of her head, "But, yes, it was a success when we used it."
Borg smugly grinned to himself, sitting at his desk atop Borg Tower. Lloyd felt an odd sense of deja vu in being here alongside Harumi and Over. Mage had yet to return from his mission, and Monty had insisted he get his time to practice with his sword. Lulloyd was still back at his home, with his father apparently preparing him for his role in the battle to come. For now, it was just the three of them here with the eccentric inventor in Lloyd's home.
"Hah! I knew it would be," Borg leaned forward, "I suppose you being here means that there is more work to be done, though! What is it you require of me this time, Harumi?"
Lloyd stepped aside, letting Harumi step forward with her watch. She tapped it, bringing up a list in the air in front of her. She shared a look with Over, then found a port to plug her watch into one of the computers on Borg's desk to send the list onto his device.
"Oh? What's this?" Borg adjusted his glasses, "Let us see what we have here! …Oh my, that is a lot of work… and… a construction order? You need me to excavate that? Hrmm… oh. How much? I see…." Borg continued to read for a bit. He reached out for his Borg Pad, taping on it and doing some calculations on it before looking up at Harumi.
"These are some, rather intense demands," Borg nodded his head, "Might I ask, for what purpose you require all of this work?"
"A man of your intellect should not be kept in the dark," Over bowed his head, his pupil less eyes glaring at Borg, "We are intending to start a battle that will end our adventure, and quite soon. We have just received word from our ally that we have one week to prepare this. We are bringing the battle here. We have discussed this matter with the ninja here, and the plan is in motion. We require a vessel to retrieve the forces we need to sustain the battle. The excavation plan is for my own design. You are the only man that we could think that would be able to do so on such a short timespan."
Borg remained silent for a moment, closing his eyes and nodding his head as he listened. When Over finished, he looked up with a small glint in his eyes. Lloyd felt his gut twist a bit, worrying if Borg could fulfill it. The message from Morro had been clear: they had one week to prepare their forces before the Twins were ready to crush them.
"Hrmm… it will take every resource at my disposal, but such a request shall be done!" Borg gripped his fist and raised it up, "If this world is in danger, then it is my duty to provide assistance! The opportunity here to aid those in need will be an achievement I will take pride in!"
"We are asking the impossible of you, Borg," Over frowned, "You have one week to create a vessel that is capable of traveling in universes. We will provide you with one of the devices that we used to travel," Over nodded, "And you will need to determine how to expand that to an entire vessel, much as you did for the Iron Doom to travel in time."
"That does complicate things… but, you know what they say!" Borg put his hand up, "Innovation waits for no man! I will require more details on what you are wanting, however. Why, innovation does require some research, of course!"
"That's why I'm here," Harumi nodded, "I'll work with you again to help draft the designs. I'm the most familiar with the technology we used in order to craft the devices we have in the first place. Hopefully, we can find a way to reverse-engineer them and create a vessel capable of doing what we need."
"Another chance to work with an intellectual?" Borg grinned, "Then time waits for neither of us! Come, Harumi, we have things to do!"
Harumi turned to Over and Lloyd, giving them a small smile. She stepped forward, and almost immediately Borg grabbed her hand and yanked her over towards his desk. He began quickly pulling blueprint pages up from the depths of his desk. Harumi looked down and quickly gave a long smirk, then picked up one of the pens and tapped on it.
"I believe we should focus our efforts on something that is easy to manufacture, then!" Borg smirked, "Yes, yes indeed. We can model it after the Nindroid craft! What capacity are you wanting to move?"
"As large as we can make it, but at minimum at least half the population of Ninjago City," Harumi began doing equations on the paper.
"The energy you would need to do that… oh, the questions!" Borg nodded, "Oh, yes, my oddly dark friend, I will send the command for my droid units to begin deploying for the Dark Island!"
"Perfect," Over nodded, "They will be able to withstand the effects without issue. I will instruct them to do exactly as we please."
With that said, Borg and Harumi began to quickly mutter and chat about various things as they both drew on the page in front of them, meeting their lines. Sensing the two were no longer needed, Lloyd turned and backed out from room, Over following him with a dignified stride.
"So… are you going to tell me what it is you two have been planning?" Lloyd asked Over as they entered the hallway, "What… exactly are you doing with the Dark Island?"
"I'm certain you can figure that out. Consider this me giving us a tactical advantage," Over's eyes glowed, "I will ensure that the battlefield is one we control. I will require it if I am to ensure that I can face Prime on the battlefield."
"Right…" Lloyd turned back to the hallway, "I guess you'll be staying here to work on that then? What about me?"
"I would ask you to check on Lulloyd," Over informed him, "The Shark Army is a pivotal role in this plan we have created. Once we have all the pieces moving, there is no stopping this machine."
"I need to prepare this 'message' to the Twins too, don't I?" Lloyd frowned, "I need to talk to my friends too. Is one week enough for all this, Over? How do you know that the Twins won't go back on Morro's plan?"
"I know your experience with Morro was not like mine… but I assure you, he is a trustworthy person," Over informed him, "And no matter what, it isn't as though we quite have a choice now, is it?"
Lloyd sighed, nodding his head. He turned down the hall, ready to go and make his way off into another world. Instead, a voice came up on his comm built into his watch. Over turned his head to see it.
"Hey, it's Mage!" Mage called out through the comm, "I'm back from my mission. I just got back home."
"Mage," Over stepped forward and looked down at the device, "Were you successful?"
"No… Aspheera won't go against her son," Mage sounded crestfallen, "Ophiod took Skales to his mom to heal him after the battle. I tried tracking them but…" Mage paused, "I didn't have any luck catching them."
"I see," Over sighed, "I suppose we were asking the world of her to do that."
"Yeah… I'm going to meet up with Skylar, the Vermillion have started retreating and I want to see what's going on," Mage spoke back, "Do you know what's up with that?"
"Morro has returned with our requests fulfilled, you have one week to convince the leaders of the Summit to join our cause," Over informed him, "Lloyd will give you the details. For now… know we are now on our march to war."
"I'll keep in touch, then!" Mage informed them. With that, Lloyd and Over shared a look together, then parted ways. Over's words rang in Lloyd's head as he spoke and began explaining the details of what Morro had reported to them. Right now, they were on their march to war.
Author's Note:
This was a rather difficult chapter to write. There are a lot of moving parts right now I'm working with. Lots of setup! But the plan is coming together by the day!
More fanart from hwompy! Please go and check it out, this time it's Monty themed! I continue to express my sincerest gratitude towards them1
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