The reason I am updating this instead of Movie Mode: I decided to rewatch the Ninjago series.

I have no regrets.

Review Replies:

LucyBricks123: Haha, sorry XD

Ninjagorulz: As you will soon find out, it is not Echo they were interested in. But now that they have him, they'll soon start thinking of ways to use him other than blackmail. However, I am not sure when this will happen. You'll understand eventually.

TheAmberShadow: ... *bangs head on keyboard again* Thanks for that. I'm glad you like it so far, and I think Day of the Departed was really good, although I'm still a bit disappointed that Echo wasn't in it. But now I'm left to wonder, since Cole is no longer a ghost but still didn't see his reflection, if he's going to die.

Chapter Five:

Dripping

The hunger didn't set in until sometime what Echo guessed to be the next morning, or late night. He may have been a robot- or a nindroid, as Jay insisted on calling him (he didn't understand why; he wasn't a ninja)- but he still needed to eat. Why else would he do so while stuck in the lighthouse?

But he was forced to ignore the pains in his stomach, still curled into his little ball in the corner of the truck, not moving in an attempt to save as much energy as possible. He kept his eyes closed, the pain from his cracked faceplate slowly fading to that of a dull throb. He felt like a giant bruise.

The truck came to an abrupt halt, causing Echo to gasp as he went slamming into the wall he was curled up against, pain flaring up his face as it collided with the cool metal. A whimper passed his lips as he clutched at his head, curling into a tighter ball, eyes clenching shut.

There was the sound of something jingling as it was inserted into something, soon followed by clicking and the rattle of chains. Echo's heart ticked faster, his shackled hands starting to shake, slowly raising his head to look at the small light peeking through the space between the two large doors. He could hear voices, almost as if someone had lifted a sound barrier that had previously blocked most of his hearing.

For a moment, he thought that it might be Zane. But then the doors swung open, and his clockwork heart plummeted to his stomach. For it wasn't Zane that stood before him, nor was it any of the other Ninja. It wasn't even a face he recognized, let alone defined as friendly.

"Boss is going to be so happy with us." one was saying, as he and his friend clambered into the back of the truck. They were wearing black rags, chipped and flimsy swords holstered at their hips, and had some rather odd purple tattoos on their faces and arms, although it appeared that they were slowly covering them with multi-colored snake ones. His friend nodded in agreement.

"Yup! I still can't believe they were able to capture one of the Ninja!" they stopped in front of Echo, grinning down at the shaking bot. Ever so slowly, their smiles faded, replaced by slightly confused expressions.

"Er... that's the Titanium Ninja?" asked the first one, rubbing at his head. The second one shrugged.

"I, uh, I dunno, he's a lot less... deadly, then I remember." He shook his head, reaching down and grabbing the chains linking the bot's hands together. Echo tried to scramble back into his corner, but he was unwillingly dragged out and onto his knees, the ticking of his clockwork heart terribly audible. The two shared another confused look, before shrugging, and pulling a sack over Echo's head.

He was tossed onto one of their backs like a sack of spare parts, and curled into another ball as they started walking, the bag jostling violently when they jumped out of the back of the truck. He heard snow crunch beneath their feet, the icy wind blowing through the thin fabric and slapping him in the face.

He wondered how it had gotten so cold so fast. But then again, who knows how long he'd been in that truck, let alone where they were.

Something poked at him through the sack. It felt like the metallic tip of something long and sharp.

"Don't try to escape, Ninja." the owner of the sword said, trying (and, admittedly, failing) to sound threatening, "Or- Or else!"

The one carrying him laughed. He could feel it rumble through the back he was pressed against. "Good one."

"Thank you."

Voices. Other voices. Calls and yells. The sound of something heavy pounding against wood, the creak of boards and something else, something he couldn't quite place. He was too frightened, his mind too jumbled, to take everything in properly with only his hearing.

"Man, where did all this snow come from?" asked the one carrying him, "Wasn't it all sunny and stuff a couple days ago?"

Echo could almost hear the other one shrug. "No idea. But I hope it goes away soon. These rags aren't all that warm."

The noise of what Echo assumed to be civilization became muffled, and they came to a stop. Something was toggled, like a switch or some sort of lever, and there was the sound of stone grinding against stone, much like his secret door back at the lighthouse. Then they were walking again, this time going down stairs based off the bouncing motion the bot was no experiencing, and once again the sound of stone grinding against stone as what he was assuming to be a door closed behind them.

He was shaking again.

"So is it true?" someone else asked, their voice croaky and hoarse, "You've captured one of 'em?"

"Sure have!" one of his captors declared cheerfully, "Kapow and Chope, best of the best, fiercest of the fierce, smartest of-"

"Okay, I get it." Hoarse cut him off, sounding vaguely annoyed, "Just get him to Jerhys."

Echo gasped as he was, once again, jostled about in the sack, his captors hastily moving on at the man with the hoarse voice's command. After a moment, they slowed down, eventually coming to a stop. There was the sound of a door opening, and then Echo was abruptly flung onto the ground, igniting a pained cry from the bot. There was a short pause.

"That him?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" one of the tattooed men said, nudging at the sacked Echo with his foot, "The Titanium Ninja!"

"Let me see him."

Immediately, two pairs of hands grabbed at the sack, pulling and yanking, leaving Echo to tumble out in a heap of shaking metal limbs and parts. Ticking in his ears, he pushed himself up on trembling arms, raising his head to take in his surroundings.

He was in a small room with rough stone walls, a few bookshelves pressed against them, decorated with worn books and stained glass bottles filled with substances he had never seen before. There was a wooden desk, chipped and scratched and in desperate need of repairs, along with an armchair that wasn't in much better condition.

Then someone appeared right in front of him, so that he was kneeling at their feet, and he slowly raised his head, his fogged yellow eyes meeting deep ocean blue.

The man before him was tall, at least six foot, and Echo had to tilt his head all the way back to get a proper look at his face. He had crimson red hair streaked with grey, his face lined from old age, his arms coiled with thick muscles, the bottom of his face covered in stubble. His hands were scarred, crisscrossing and jagged, gained from days of hard labor, and he was missing three fingers, two on his right and one on his left.

Eyes narrowing, the man stepped forward, grabbing Echo's chin harshly and getting right in his face, his rotten, yellow teeth bared like a wolves. The bots trembling increased, his breath coming in ragged gasps and his clockwork heart ticking so fast he could barely decipher one tick from another.

The man's ocean blue eyes flashed in confusion, before his face twisted into a look of pure rage, and he roughly pushed Echo to the ground, pain flaring up his faceplate like fire as it collided with the rough stone.

He ignored Echo's pained cries, spinning around to face the two that had brought him here, his face almost turning purple, hands curled into fists. The two took a step back, their previously proud smirks replaced with looks of terror.

"This," the man spat, "Is not the Titanium Ninja."

"I-Is it not?" one of the stuttered, the both of them backing away as their boss advanced on them, "A-A-Are you sure?"

"Does THAT-" he grabbed the one that had talked by the throat, pulling him forwards so that he was looking at Echo, pointing at the bot, "Look like the Titanium Ninja?!"

"I-I-I t-think so?"

This was the wrong thing to say, because the enraged man flung him into the second one, nearly knocking them both to the ground. "He's not even made of titanium, you imbeciles!"

"We're not the ones that captured him!" the second one blurted, shaking almost as much as Echo, "I-It was-"

He never got to finish his sentence. The man lunged forwards, a flash of silver momentarily blinding the bot. He blinked, rubbing at his eyes, and gasped.

The second one gurgled, eyes wide, his once terror-filled face now one of surprise. Crimson liquid bubbled in his mouth, around the blade lodged in his throat, dripping down his chin, over his ragged tunic, permanently staining the fabric.

"K-Kapow?" his friend stuttered, eyes wide with horror. Kapow fell to his knees, his front covered in crimson, still gurgling, and then he face-planted the ground, the rest of the blade coming out the back of his neck. "K-Karl?!"

He fell to his knees besides his friends body, tears streaming down his face, his hands hovering above his friend as though he could magically heal him. A sob wracked his form. "K-K-Karl?"

The man took a few deep breaths, as though attempting to calm himself. He wiped his hand on his shirt, leaving a red stain, a regretful look crossing his face as he looked at what he'd done. He sighed.

"I knew I should've brought back someone else." then, shaking his head, he looked down at Echo, who was staring at the tattooed men lying in a pool of red, eyes wide with shock. "But... perhaps you can be of use, little one."

Echo couldn't tear his eyes from Kapow, lying face-down, his friend sobbing at his side and repeating his name over and over again. A terrified sob shook Echo's shoulders, soon followed by another, and he curled into another ball on the hard floor, bawling, the man reaching down with his three-fingered hand and petting his hair as though he were a dog.

"No!" Echo gasped, jerking away from the mutilated hand, scrambling backwards until his back hit the desk, his shackles rattling alongside his trembling body, "G-Get a-away from m-me!"

The door banged open, slamming against the wall so hard that the end of the handle chipped off. Echo jumped, heart in his throat, banging his head against the edge of the desk in the process. Four people entered, faces hidden behind ragged shawls, except three were white and one was a poisonous green, rather than the usual black he'd seen so far. They were all barefoot, weapons strapped to their waists, backs and legs, the skin that he could see a sickly pale grey color.

The man glanced at them, seemingly not surprised by their sudden entrance. He gestured to Kapow's body, his friend still sobbing at his side, having turned him onto his front and pulled out the knife, now covered in crimson himself. "Get someone to see to them."

Silently, one of the white ones bowed, and for the first time Echo noticed a symbol on their forehead in a blue so dark it could be mistaken for black at first glance. It was 泥, the Japanese word for 'dirt.' Straightening, Dirt turned on their heel and made their way out the door, presumably to get a few things. Once they were gone, the man pointed to Echo, and immediately those remaining marched towards him, hands outstretching to grab him.

Eyes widening, Echo rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet, raising his shackled, shaking fists. Undeterred, Poisonous looked at the other two in white, gesturing with their head to Echo. Nodding in unison, the two in white- who also had symbols on their foreheads, 残り火 and 力, Japanese symbols for 'embers' and 'force'- lunged towards Echo like cats after a mouse.

With a terrified squeak, Echo leaped up, his feet planting onto the ceiling and sticking there. Force and Embers landed on the floor, but quickly jumped to their feet, looking up at Echo with hard, emotionless eyes. From their curved bodies and the two bumps on their chests, Echo identified them as female, although he still wasn't so sure about the one in poisonous green.

Embers cupped her hands together, allowing Force to place her foot in it and leap up towards Echo, wrapping her arms around the bots waist before he could even react. Echo struggled to knock her off, elbowing her in the ribs, but her grip stayed strong, as though she had suction cups on her palms.

Then Embers jumped up, grabbed Echo around the head, and pulled them both off the ceiling, the two girls landing on Echo's back on their bare feet. The man tutted, shaking his head, as Embers and Force forced Echo to his feet. "Now, now, little one. Play nice with the girls, yes?"

"You won't get away with this!" Echo declared, although his shaking voice and hands took away the effect, "My brother will come for me!"

"Oh, don't worry, little one." the man purred, as Force and Embers dragged the scared bot towards the door, Dirt returning with two stone-faced men and a large trash bag, "You're brother will know you're with us soon enough. Just remember to give the camera a little smile."

The door closed behind them, muffling the screams of the first one as they dragged him away from his friends cold body, and a sack was once again stuffed over Echo's head.

Zane's shiny fingers flew across the keyboard rapidly, his determined eyes glued to the screen, jaw clenched and brow furrowed in concentration. The room was dark, with nothing but the glow of the bridge's screen and a candle on the table, the wax down to a stub. There was a knock on the door, but he didn't turn to look. He had to find him.

"Er, Zane? Buddy?" It was Cole. The nindroid ignored him. A sigh. "Look, Zane, you haven't slept in two days, and we both know even nindroids need their sleep. How about you-"

"I'm not going to bed, Cole." Zane cut him off, still not tearing his eyes from the screen. It flashed red. He tried again. "I have to find him."

"And then what?" asked Cole, moving to stand next his ice brother, "You won't be able to get him back even if you did know his location, not if you're too tired to even think straight."

"I'm not tired."

"Actually," said PIXAL, abruptly appearing on the bridge and making Zane scowl, "You're running on back-up power."

The ghost crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows at the nindroid, "See? Even PIXAL agrees with me."

Zane looked down, glaring at the floor as though it had personally offended him. "A month." he muttered, after a long moment, "He was here for a month."

Cole's face softened, and he reached out, his green hued hand solidifying so that he could touch the droids shoulder. "It's not your fault, you know."

"Yes, it is." Zane insisted, turning to look at his ghostly brother, "It was me that insisted on going to get him from the lighthouse in the first place."

"Well, why wouldn't you?" Cole asked, "If I'd found out that I had a long lost little brother, I'd want to immediately go get him too."

When Zane remained silent, PIXAL was the one that spoke up. "Go to bed, Zane. I'll stay here and continue the search."

"I can't sleep." said Zane, turning back to the keyboard, "Even if I got into bed, I doubt I'd actually be able to close my eyes long enough to fall into Rest Mode."

"We will find him." Cole said. He reached down and took Zane's hand in his, giving it a squeeze, "Just not tonight. A brother of yours is a brother of mine."

Zane was silent for a long moment, staring at the map of Ninjago. Finally, he gave a defeated sigh, and stood up, Cole and PIXAL sharing a triumphed smile. "Come on, brother." said Cole, wrapping an arm around the nindroids slumped shoulders and steering him towards the door, "We'll find our little guy in the morning."

"Do not worry, Zane." PIXAL called after them, "I'll be keeping an eye out."

The nindroid looked over his shoulder at her regretfully, obviously still rather reluctant to stop searching, but obediently kept walking when Cole gave him a little tug outside the door. He bowed his head, looking at the floorboards but not really seeing them.

He was a terrible older brother.

Cole turned the handle to their shared bedroom, swinging the door open and revealing a scene Zane hadn't expected. Instead of the others sleeping in their beds, all the blankets and pillows had been piled into the center of the room, the other Ninja curled on top of them in a tangle of sheets and limbs. Upon hearing the door opening, three heads rose to look at them, faces lighting up once they realized who the ghost had returned with.

"Why are you all on the floor?" asked Zane, keeping his voice quiet as to not wake Lloyd, who's head rested on Kai's stomach, "Are the beds in need of repairs?"

Nya shook her head. "Nah, we just decided to have a little sleep over." Zane blinked.

"We share the same room."

"Ugh," Cole groaned, pushing Zane towards the pile, "Enough logic. Just get in."

Shrugging, Zane crawled into the heap, wrapping himself in one of the blankets, his head brushing with Jay's. Cole clambered in after him, despite barely ever needing to sleep, curling up near Lloyd's feet with a pillow clutched to his chest. Nya settled in herself, resting her head on Jay's shoulder, who smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer.

Closing his eyes, Zane snuggled deeper into the blankets, feeling better now that he was surrounded by the rest of his siblings. If only one of them hadn't been missing, then otherwise this would have been perfect.

"Seamus Dewer." Detective Tommy read aloud, "Born July sixteenth. Lost his parents in a car accident when he was seventeen, married when he was nineteen. Went missing after the Devourer incident. Was presumed dead ever since."

"Where has he been all this time?" asked Lloyd, squinting through the two-way glass at the man on the other side, "He couldn't have just reappeared."

Detective Simon shook his head. "He won't speak. Say's he'll only talk to the Ninja. We didn't plan on actually contacting you, but, well... then he showed us a few pictures."

Kai raised an eyebrow at him. "Pictures?"

Looking somber, Simon picked a yellow file up off the desk next to him, flipping it open and pulling out a small stack of pictures. He handed them to Lloyd, who took one look at them and went terribly pale. "Oh no."

"What?" asked Jay. Nya peered over Lloyd's shoulder, gasping and putting her hands to her mouth, immediately turning away. Jay's eyes flashed in concern. "What is it?" He, Cole, Kai and Zane moved to stand next to their green leader, eyes widening and mouths falling open upon realizing what the pictures were of.

It was Echo. A jagged crack ran down his faceplate, his entire body covered in mud and dirt. One of his eyes were dull, like the light had been broken, and his leg was twisted at a stomach-churning angle, gears and screws hanging out of place, some missing entirely. He was lying on a stone floor, and in most of the pictures he was alone, but in three there was a person with him, face hidden behind a ragged shawl. In one, the person had a fistful of Echo's hair. In another, he was standing on his broken leg. In the third, he was holding a baseball bat.

"Oh my god." Jay breathed, strangled voice barely above a whisper. When Lloyd looked at him, he was startled to find his eyes were shinning with tears.

Shaking metal fingers closed around the pictures, pulling them out of Lloyd's hands. All eyes turned to Zane, who's face was oddly blank, as he shuffled through the small stack. He stopped at the one of Echo lying on the floor, his yellow eyes wide with terror as he looked at the ones doing this to him.

"Zane," PIXAL's voice was quiet, soft, as though she were talking to a scared animal, "Are you... alright?"

"I'm fine, PIXAL." Zane muttered, almost automatically. His siblings shared concerned looks, before Kai reached out and gently tugged the pictures out of the nindroids unresisting hands.

"Dewer showed up around four in the morning," Tommy continued, his own voice uncharacteristically soft, "Wearing rags and with nothing but these pictures and a letter."

"Do any of you know who the person... with Echo is?" asked Simon, "In the pictures?"

The Ninja looked at one another. Slowly, Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. A bunch of people wearing rags attacked us in the woods only moments after Echo-Zane went missing. But we've got no idea who they are, or what they would want with Zane's little brother."

"What does the letter say?" asked Cole, crossing his arms and leaning against one of the desks. Simon pulled a yellowing piece of paper out of a file, clearing his throat.

"We have one of your own. Take his place, and he won't be harmed any more than he already has. Signed, Carrot."

Jay snorted, although it was still painfully obvious he was holding back tears, his smile looking rather forced. "What kind of name is Carrot?"

"Do you think we could have a little chat with this Seamus Dewer guy?" asked Nya, stepping closer to Jay and taking his hand in hers in an attempt to comfort him. Tommy nodded.

"Right this way." the two Detectives led them to the door, Simon pulling out a key and inserting it into the lock, turning it and igniting a small clicking sound.

"We'll be watching from the two way window." Tommy explained, "Just in case he's not all that he seems. Although I doubt you'll need any help if that's true."

Zane gave him a curt nod, following Lloyd and the others into the interrogation room. Dewer's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening, his eyes lighting up as he took in their attire.

He had black hair streaked with green, and dark brown eyes that glinted in the light. His skin was pale, as though he hadn't seen daylight in months, and he was wearing black jogging bottoms and a black hoodie, probably to replace the rags he'd worn previously.

"So," said Lloyd, plopping down in the only seat across from Dewer, his team gathering around him, "You're the one that brought the pictures in?"

Dewer nodded. "Yes." his voice was hoarse, like it had been a long while since he'd last spoke, "They promised to let me go if I delivered them to you."

Kai blinked. "Wait, who promised to let you go?"

Dewer took a deep, shaky breath, bowing his head to stare at the table top. After a moment, he sighed, reaching up to run his fingers through his green streaked hair. "Well, to start things off, they call themselves Basilisk."

"Basilisk?" Jay repeated, "As in the snake from Harry Potter?"

Dewer frowned. "Who's Harry Potter?"

A beat of silence. "You're dead to me."

"This 'Basilisk' group." Lloyd cut in, "Who are they?"

"And how do you know them?" asked Zane.

"Only a little while after the Devourer destroyed Ninjago," Dewer began, "My wife, daughter and I went looking for a new place to live, but we were ambushed, taken prisoner. We were thrown into the back of a truck and left there for days on end. By the time we got to where we were going, I'd lost count of the minutes that had passed."

"Where did they take you?" asked Nya. Dewer shook his head.

"No idea. We were stuffed into sacks and taken to their base or something. 'Fraid I can't tell you were it is."

Kai sighed. "Darn."

"After around a year," Dewer continued, "Or at least it felt like a year, we tried to escape with another prisoner, called himself Kaze. We made it outside our cells, but the place was like some sort of labyrinth, and before we knew it, we were lost. We'd only ever been to our cells and the factory."

"What did Basilisk want with you and Kaze in the first place?" asked Lloyd.

"My family and I were just taken as slaves." said Dewer, face turning bitter, "Kaze, on the other hand, told me that he'd refused to help Basilisk with something, so he was thrown into the factory with the rest of us."

"Do you know what they wanted him to do?" Zane asked.

"No. He wouldn't give us a straight answer, and would just go real quiet when we pressed him."

Jay shifted, moving so that he was leaning against Lloyd's chair. His legs were starting to get tired from standing in one place for so long. "So how did you escape the labyrinth?"

"We didn't." Dewer sighed, "We'd barely been out our cells ten minutes before we were caught and thrown back in. To teach me a lesson, he... he..." the former slave clenched his wet eyes shut. He took a shaky breath. "This was ages ago. But I'll never forget the day he put a bullet through my daughters brain."

Jay gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. Kai and Nya shared horrified looks, and Cole looked as though he was about to throw up his breakfast, if that was even possible for a ghost in the first place. Zane and Lloyd looked at each other, before turning back to the man.

"I apologize for your loss." the nindroid said, "But this... 'Basilisk' has my younger brother. Do you have any idea on how we may get him back?"

Dewer sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but no. The only reason I'm here is because they let me go to deliver the pictures and the letter. There's just no escaping Basilisk. Not alive, anyhow."

"What about Kaze?" asked Jay, "What happened to him?"

"Hell if I know." said Dewer, "After we tried to escape, we were separated, and I haven't seen him since. But I'll tell you this now," he leaned forwards, placing his elbows on the table, face serious, "Whatever Basilisk tells you, don't believe it. They're liars, the lot of 'em. I never read that letter, but I've got a damn good idea what it says, and if it's telling you to hand yourself over in place of your friend, don't do it. They'll kill him either way."

"Then we'll tell them to hand him over first." said Zane simply.

"Look, I know Basilisk. They're more sly than an Anacondrai." shaking his head again, Dewer leaned back in his seat, "No. You want your little brother back, tin can, you'll have to find a way to trick 'em. And even that's gon' be difficult."

"We've faced pirates, snakes, an overlord, robots, a death tournament, ghosts, a Djinn, and Lloyd's crazy, four-armed father." listed Kai, "I think we can handle this guy."

"Don't be so arrogant." said Dewer, "Or you might wind up in a pool of your own blood."

"I'm still a bit confused," Jay admitted, "Is Basilisk the leader or the group?"

"The group." Dewer explained, "Their leader's a guy called Soren."

"Lemme guess," mumbled Cole, "He's built an artificial Happy Land."

Dewer cracked a smile at that, the first one they'd seen so far. "I suppose you could say that."

"Look, can you help us find Echo or not?" asked Lloyd. A chuckle rose passed Dewer's lips, making the blond boy's gaze harden.

"They want you to meet them at the place they attacked you." the former slave explained, "To exchange yourself for your little robot. I say that's when you play a little trick, and you all get out of there home free."

"But why are you helping us?" asked Nya, "Surely after being locked up by Basilisk for so long, you wouldn't want to risk being taken back?"

"They killed my girls." Dewer said, his voice turning as hard as a brick wall, "The least I can do is make sure their killers meet the same fate."

The Ninja were silent for a long moment, sharing looks. Then Lloyd turned back to the former slave, reached out and shook his hand. "Nice to have you aboard, Mr. Dewer."

"Please," Dewer smiled, "Call me Seamus."

Dripping. Like a faucet that wasn't turned off properly. It slid between the cracks in the rocky ceiling, dropping off and hitting the ground, creating a tiny little puddle before it was quickly soaked into the gravel as though it were sponge.

Of all things, it was the dripping that was slowly driving him crazy. On occasion, he'd catch himself wishing he was still dead, or even trapped in the Cursed Realm. At least there the cells had no constant dripping noise. The place was bone dry, being filled with ghosts and all.

He heard the sound of the cell next to his own's heavy door opening, and then a cry as someone was harshly flung inside. The door closed, quickly followed by a turning of a key and the clicking of a lock. A single sob.

How curious. That cell had been empty for ages.

Desperate for something to distract him from the dripping, he crawled over to the tiny little window, far too weak to even consider standing, it's bars as thick as his hand, and peered through them into the other cell. It was as dark as his own, a near pitch black, but unlike all the other time's he'd peered passed the bars, he could make out someone in the middle of the room, lying curled on the floor. He couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, but from the ragged breathing, it was safe to assume they were alive.

For now, anyway.

He was silent for a long moment, watching the small figure tremble in the darkness, lying on his stomach with his face right up against the cold bars. At least ten minutes passed. Perhaps twenty. "Who're you, then?"

The person jumped, and he was startled to hear a loud ticking abruptly filling the air, like a broken clock. They twisted around to face him, glowing yellow eyes staring at the wall for a moment, before going down to the tiny window on the floor. He blinked. It was a rather familiar looking nindroid.

"Zane?"

Zane stared at him for a long moment, his entire body trembling, much to his surprise. He wondered what they could have done to him to have achieved such a reaction, from a Ninja, no less. "I-I am Echo. Zane is m-my older brother."

He blinked again, face morphing into a look of surprise. "I never knew he had a brother."

"We only discovered this recently."

"Huh." A beat of silence. "How'd you end up here, Echo?"

"I was playing." the nindroid said, the ticking slowly becoming quieter, "And they threw me into a truck."

"Ah."

They descended into silence again. Echo laid down on his side, curling up, although he never tore his eyes from the window. The dripping continued.

"Who are you?"

He took a moment to answer. "A friend."

"You hesitated."

"I'm not the best person to be friends with." More dripping. He was tempted to bang his head against the bars. Maybe he'd die again if he did it hard enough.

"Do you have a name?" the nindroid asked.

"Yes." he didn't continue. The nindroid waited expectantly. He couldn't have been that old, from the innocent gleam in his fogged eyes.

"Are you going to tell me it?"

"No."

"Then what am I supposed to call you?"

Silence followed the question. The dripping became audible again. A sigh broke it.

"Kaze." he turned around, so that his back faced the nindroid. "You can call me Kaze."

Behind him, the nindroid gave a tiny smile, wincing as his faceplate burned at the action. But then again, his entire body was burning. "It's nice to meet you, Kaze."

His only answer was more dripping.

I think this is a lot better than the previous chapter. Well, it's longer, at least.

So, tell me. Who do you think Kaze is? How did Kapow and Chope escape the Cursed Realm? Who is this mysterious Carrot? What about the women in white? And just what is Basilisk all about? Tell me your theories in the reviews, I'd love to hear them!