Review Replies:

Anonymous7: Thank you! Oh, and you can actually watch all of the Hands of Times episodes, in English, on YouTube. I've honestly got no idea if they're released in the UK or not XXD

Fabro de Verbis: Oh, a new reader! Thanks! I'm not sure when you'll see this, but it's so nice to know that I'm actually getting new readers. I hope you like the rest of the story!

StoriesAreMagic: Aww, I'm blushing! There are very few stories that even mention things like the police and government reacting to Ninja/superheroes/vigilantes, and so I just decided to throw that in there on a whim. It'll probably make other appearances and mentions, but I doubt I'll be going any further into it. We'll see.

Isabella camovic: Haha, I'm really loving your ideas! Sadly, I'm not sure I'll be able to add them, especially in flashbacks (I've got a thing planned out for them; they're not there just for bits of cuteness, although I really enjoy writing those parts). However, I've written your ideas down in my notebook and plan on using them at some point, be it sometime in this story (like Echo meeting the Falcon) or the sequel (Zane taking Echo to Mega Monster Amusement Park, reading him a bedtime story (I plan to use this one to help Echo cope with nightmares in the sequel) and so on). Thanks so much for the ideas, by the way! Although I don't think I'm going to use the burping contest one. Glad you liked the tickle scene!

TheAmberShadow: Does Echo have a chest cavity? I'm not actually sure, but I'm going to say probably. As for Lloyd having red eyes, have you seen Erradays artwork? It's brilliant (and realistic) and they draw Lloyd with red eyes. Ever since then, it rubbed off on me and I love the idea. I also have a theory that the Ninjago Movie is literally a movie in the Ninjago universe, and the Ninja are actually actors, hence why they look so different. I doubt this will actually happen, but I would love to have an end credit scene that shows the actual Ninja in the theatre. So no, Lloyds eyes aren't like Ariza Luca's Cassie Rose, although I like to think they intensify the angrier/more emotional he gets, which is why they burned so bright in that scene.

Chapter Fourteen:

Nightlight

The rest they'd taken had, for the first hour, done wonderous things. They'd been able to pick up the pace, and Echo would have probably been able to walk on his own had his broken leg not burned so badly whenever he put weight on it.

But, of course, these wonders eventually passed, and it was back to the slow limping, neither of them knowing who was putting more weight on the other. There was nothing but dark, twisted corridor after dark, twisted corridor. Sometimes it would be so dark that Echo wouldn't be able to see his hand in front of his face. These bouts of darkness would sometimes only last moments, while at other times it would seem as though they would never leave it behind.

The only noise was their footsteps against the rocky floors, the splash of puddles and the dripping of water from somewhere high above in the infinite black. Echo wondered if there was even a ceiling at all, if the black abyss above them was actually the night sky. That thought gave him hope, for the sky never remains black forever.

Walking, walking, his legs trembling beneath him. His chest burned from lack of breath, and he was having trouble holding himself up right. Holding Echo up wasn't helping matters. Briefly, he considered abandoning him. But that thought was quickly pushed aside.

He kept his head bowed. Focused on his feet, putting one foot in front of the other. The water on his legs was cold and damp and would have sent his mind into a panic had he not been so tired.

He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around it. Being human again.

One foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right.

He was so tired.

The Black Rag fell to the ground, drowning in his own blood. He tumbled out the van, his body smacking against the road with a sickening crack! He was already dead when the other van ran him over.

Lloyd didn't give himself time to regret his actions. He spun to face the next Black Rag, bringing his hand up to block a punch, ignoring the pain blazing in his palm. Raising his other hand, the one that tingled with power, he punched the Black Rag in the chest and sent him flying down the street in a flare of green.

Another Black Rag, this one female, lunged at him. Lloyd made to dodge, but was too slow, and she wrapped her arm around his throat, swung herself behind him and squeezed.

Lloyd choked, his hands instinctively going up to the arm around his throat in an attempt to get it off. With a grunt, he hoisted the woman higher and began to spin, faster and faster and faster until he was a mini green tornado. The woman's grip left him, and when he came to a stop, he was just in time to see her slump against the van's wall. The college student kicked her out the hole.

A badly-made mace was swung at his head, but Lloyd ducked, spun and kicked the Black Rag wielding it in the legs, knocking him over. A knife, much larger than the jagged one in his hand, scratched his cheek, coming away with a red tip. Lloyd punched them in the stomach, then the chin, before shoving them out of the van.

"How's it going back there?" he asked, as yet another Black Rag rushed towards him, a short sword held above her head. He blasted the sword away in a burst of green energy, grabbed the woman and spun, green sparks dashing around him. He let go, sending her flying over the vans.

"We need more time!" one of the dads shouted back, "We've almost got this one out!"

Lloyd wasn't given time to answer. Two Black Rags lunged at him at the same time, one left, one right, with rusted swords clenched in their hands. Lloyd jumped over them, and the two Black Rags skidded to a stop before they could slam into each other.

They spun around and one of them swung their sword. Lloyd ducked, the blade scraping against the top of his head but not cutting, before smacking into the wall and shattering.

This time, it was Lloyd who charged. But then his heart leapt as his foot slipped in a pool of blood, sending him slamming into the ground. Pain raged up the back of his head upon contact with the ground.

Then someone was on top of him, their hands curling around his throat and squeezing. Lloyd choked, eyes bulging, clawing at the hands with his non-injured one.

The Black Rag pressed down harder, squeezing tighter, their eyes wide with excitement. Lloyd's chest began to burn as he desperately tried to breathe, pushing weakly at the Black Rags' chest.

Small arms wrapped around the Black Rags own neck, their eyes almost bulging out of their skull in surprise. The arms tightened, pulling them back, and the Black Rag was forced to release Lloyd to free himself.

Lloyd gratefully sucked in a lungful of air, coughing. Panting, he raised his head, eyes widening when he realised who was strangling the Black Rag.

Nelson's legs were wrapped around the Black Rags chest so he wouldn't fall off, both of his entier arms wrapping around their neck, tighter and tighter like twin Constrictai. For a bizarre moment, it looked almost as though the Black Rag was giving Nelson a piggyback ride.

Giving himself a shake, Lloyd struggled to his feet, his muscles throbbing and his wounds flaring with a white hot pain. Taking steady breaths, he ran towards the Black Rag, spun around in a spray of green sparks, balled his hand into a fist, put out his arm and punched them smack damn in the side of the face in a spray of teeth, blood and spit.

With a thump, Nelson fell to the ground, gasping. One of the other kids shouted something that Lloyd didn't catch, and then Nelson was quickly scrambling back over to them.

The Black Rag fell to the ground as well, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Lloyd stood there, panting, sweating, the copper tang of blood thick on his tongue and high up his nose. His hand burned, his cheek and earlobe stung, his body was a mess of black, blue and red. Some of the red didn't even belong to him.

"Lloyd!" the girl twin screamed.

Eyes widening, Lloyd spun on his heels, just in time to block the kick that was about to hit him in the chest. He twisted the Black Rags leg in a way it was not supposed to twist, snapping the bone in two with a crack.

The Black Rag screamed. They raised their hand and punched Lloyd in the side of the head, right on his slashed earlobe. Lloyd gasped, releasing the Black Rags leg, who dropped to the ground.

He stumbled backwards, standing on something soft and squishy. The Black Rag he'd knocked down previously yelled, Lloyd instinctively moving away in surprise. They curled on their side, clutching at their fractured wrist, the rags around their mouth falling off, revealing missing front teeth and blood coated lips.

CRACK! The hook snapped off, zipping out of the van and onto the road. The Black Rags that had been in the process of climbing across the cable-wire fell to the ground, tumbling over each other and scrapping skin against the hard cement. The van that the hook was attached to screeched to an abrupt halt, coming dangerously close to running the Black Rags over.

"We got one!" the mother cheered.

Another Black Rag reached the end of the second cable. Lloyd turned to her, raising his fists. She hardly glanced at him, leaping onto the roof of the van with a thump. Lloyd swore.

He ran to the edge of the hole, grabbing onto the side and looking up to try and spot the Black Rag. He made to follow her, only to be tackled back into the van.

Lloyd brought his legs to his stomach and kicked the Black Rag in the stomach, knocking him out of the hole again and onto the road. Scrambling to his feet just as another jumped across the last lengths of the cable-wire, Lloyd ran at them, ramming his shoulder into their chest and sending them away.

There was a yell from up front, and then the van can to a sudden halt. Lloyd grabbed the side of the van to stop himself from tumbling out, gritting his teeth against the pain that flared up his injured palm.

The hostages toppled over each other, falling to the floor with screams of surprise. There was more yelling up front, quickly followed by the smack of a hand against flesh. Struggling, limbs banging against anything and everything, and then a stillness that sent Lloyd's heart pounding in his throat.

"Miss Baker?" the male twin called out hesitantly. He received no verbal answer.

The van began to move again. The tiers screeched against the cement. Faster, faster, the engine rumbling and grumbling beneath the bonnet. The van was moving so fast that they had to grab ahold of the walls or the floor to stop themselves from falling over. Half of Lloyds' body dangled out the back of the van.

Rough hands grabbed at his hair, igniting a yell of both pain and surprise, tugging and pulling harshly. Tears stung Lloyds' eyes as he struggled, trying to release the hands in his hair while trying not to fall out the speeding van at the same time.

He brought his knee up, hitting his attacker in the stomach and winding them. Not allowing them to recover, he released the wall with one hand and shoved them away in a blast of green, some of his hair getting pulled out in the process with a spine-tingling rip.

Lloyd raised his head, trying to think of what to do. His eyes widened upon spotting the net flying towards him, but he hadn't spotted it soon enough.

The thick ropes, weighed down by stones, wrapped around him like a fisherman making the catch of the day. Lloyd stumbled, the only hand gripping the wall slipping on its own blood, his glove momentarily getting caught on the edge.

He heard Nelson scream his name, before he slammed onto the road, his breath forcefully leaving his lungs, his shoulder collapsing beneath him like an egg. He cracked the side of his head against the cement.

He didn't remember closing his eyes.

Zane paced. His shoes clicked against the floor, and his hat lay abandoned on one of the desks. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. He reached the wall. Turned around and started again.

"She's not going anywhere," Seamus spoke up, breaking the thick silence that had, at some point, descended upon the police station. Zane shook his head, not answering. Turned around. Started again.

Seamus sighed, leaning back in his chair. It was hard to make out his features in the darkness, but it was clear in the way his shoulders slumped that he was tired. He'd probably been tired for a very, very long time.

Zane came to a stop, just in front of the two-way mirror. Glared at the violet-eyed woman on the other side, sitting casually in her seat. If anything, she looked bored out of her mind.

His thoughts must have shown, for Seamus sent him a weary eye, "I don't think interrogating her will do much."

"I could always try," Zane muttered. Seamus shook his head.

"Those detectives have already tried, Zane."

"Well, I'll try harder."

Seamus didn't answer. He turned to watch Violet.

Zane ran a hand down his face, leaning against the wall.

"Zane," said PIXAL, "Your stress levels are rising."

The nindroid gave a low hum, one that gave no true answer. PIXAL appeared on his screen, her green eyes narrowed.

"You're acting like a hormonal teenager."

Zane sent a deadpan look at the wall, wishing PIXAL still had a body for him to send the look to. He'd already gotten quite a few strange looks while conversing with her in public. Sensing his thoughts, PIXAL giggled.

He rolled his eyes, unable to help the way his lips twitched upwards. Zane blinked, realising that Seamus was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Seamus' cheeks tinted red, "Oh, uh... you were just acting a little, uh..."

Zane just looked at him, unsure how to explain the fact that his... compatible partner was inside his head. Seamus went even redder, casting his eyes away.

"Uh... nevermind."

Slightly relieved, Zane turned to look through the two-way mirror. Violet was balancing on the back legs of her chair again, her cuffed hands held out in front of her in an attempt to help keep balance.

"I'm going in," he said finally. Seamus nodded, the red fading from his face.

"Just, uh... " he shrugged weakly, "Have fun?"

Zane sent him an amused smile, before opening the door and sliding through, the door locking behind him. Violet looked up immediately, a smile lighting up her pale face. The chairs front legs slammed back to the ground.

"We've already interrogated her, Zane," said PIXAL, "She's not going to tell us anything else."

"We'll see about that," Zane whispered, making his way towards the metal table, standing behind the empty chair.

"Oh, thank god," Violet sighed, slumping in her seat in mock-relief, "I was getting so bored."

Zane decided not to answer, instead crossing his arms. PIXAL remained on his screen.

Violet raised a thin eyebrow at him, seemingly disappointed, "Really? Nothing? Why'd you even come in here?"

"Who are you, Violet?" asked Zane.

She sighed, irritated, leaning back and regarding him with little interest. "You just said my name."

"Who are you really?" Zane asked. His voice was hard, as cold as the ice that curled in his core, "Why are you apart of Basilisk?"

For a long moment, Violet just stared at him. Then she laughed, a small laugh that shook her shoulders, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. "Why are you apart of the Ninja?"

Zane blinked, startled. He glanced at the two-way mirror, where he knew Seamus was most likely watching. He returned his gaze to Violet, who was smirking at him. He scowled. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you apart of the Ninja?" Violet repeated, "It's not like you're human. You're a machine. You're programmed to be good."

"Cole's not human." Zane pointed out.

"But he used to be." said Violet, "And he's still like a human. He can still make conscious choices. He's a human soul." She leant back in her chair again, regarding him with a sly smirk that only caused him to hate her even more, "You, on the other hand, aren't. You're a computer. A tool. They only have you around became you're useful."

"How could you possibly know that?" asked Zane, shifting his weight to his other foot. To the side of his screen, PIXAL's eyes flashed with something that looked like concern.

"It's obvious," Violet drawled, "Get broken beyond repair? They'll just buy a new one."

"What do you mean 'buy a new one'?" Zane glared at her, once again crossing his arms across his chest. He hated the way she was smirking at him. He hated the way that her words were tugging at thoughts that he had buried deep within his mind long ago. He hated the way his heart was beginning to twist in his chest.

"Oh, don't be so dumb," Violet laughed, "I thought you were the smart one. Thing is, Cupcake, if something happens to you, your 'friends' will just get a new nindroid."

"They wouldn't do that." Zane denied. Violet cocked her head to the side.

"Oh? But haven't they before?"

Zane's mouth had gone mysteriously dry. He turned on his heel and marched out of the room, Violet's laughter following him even after the door closed behind him.

Seamus watched him with wide eyes, standing right up next to the two-way mirror. "Zane? Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zane said shortly, his voice almost as monotone as it had been before he'd opened up to his friends. He ignored Seamus' eyes boring into the back of his head as he marched passed him and into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Zane leant his back against the wall, glaring at the floor, his hands clenching and unclenching in agitation. PIXAL was still on his screen.

"Zane?"

He shook his head, unable to come up with a verbal answer. There was a short bout of silence.

"They're not your friends." PIXAL said, causing Zane to stiffen, "They're your brothers."

Zane blinked, slowly relaxing, realising she'd accessed his thoughts. It wasn't often that she did that; in fact, this must have been only the third or fourth time that she'd done it on purpose.

"You're still Zane," PIXAL continued, "You're just... shinier."

A small laugh bubbled up Zane's throat. PIXAL grinned at him.

"Besides, who could replace you? You're one of a kind."

Slowly, Zane's smile fell. He raised his head, looking up and down the dark hall. He wondered where Echo was.

"Yeah," he muttered, "One of a kind."

PIXAL's own smile fell, concern flashing across her digitalised face. Zane wished she was here with him, in the physical world. He wanted to hug her. Properly.

"I wish that too," PIXAL whispered.

"Zane!"

The nindroid's head snapped towards the door he'd come through, just as Seamus pushed it open, his eyes locking with Zane's electric blue, "She's- She's walking around!"

Eyes widening, Zane and Seamus ran back into the room, skidding to a stop in front of the two-way mirror. Indeed, Violet was circling the table as though she were taking a casual stroll through the park, hands still handcuffed in front of her.

"What's she doing?" Zane asked, more to himself than Seamus, "How'd she even get up? Wasn't she chained to the chair?"

Seamus shook his head, "I-I don't think so."

Zane scratched the back of his hair, looking from Violet to Seamus, "Well, then, maybe it's no big deal. If she was never-"

The lights came back on, causing Zane to gasp as he was momentarily blinded, having long since grown used to the darkness. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to blink his vision back. It was like someone had just turned on the lights while he was half asleep in bed.

Scrubbing his eyes raw, Zane blinked again, his vision slowly adjusting, probably much quicker than a humans. He looked up, through the two-way mirror- and his mouth popped open in shock.

Violet was gone.

OH MY GOD, IT'S A DECENTLY TIMED UPDATE. THIS CAN'T BE TONI42.

Haha, well, anyway, Lloyd failed to save Nelson and the others, Zane and PIXAL have a moment, Violet is a bitch and appears to have some kind of vanishing powers (not really), and Echo and Kaze are still aimlessly wandering through the labyrinth on the verge of collapse. How fun!

Well, it's eleven o'clock at night, so I'm gonna head to bed. Wow, I've taken to updating just before going to bed a lot (my mum's not very happy about that, haha). Oh, well. Nighty night!