Review Replies:

StoriesAreMagic: Thanks, that was one of my best fight scenes yet. And yeah, I agree with you; they should have explored Zane be thorough during rebooted. Also, more Zane angst next chapter!

LucyBrick123: Haha, sorry ::) Yeah, Echo and Kaze are very lost, but they don't appear in this chapter. Lloyd's okay, he was just knocked unconscious and is pretty banged up. No 'on the verge of death' or anything. And awww, thank you so much!

TheAmberShadow: Oh, okay. Then he doesn't have a chest panel in this either, I just wasn't sure. Yeah, she was talking about Titanium Zane. This chapter doesn't have any Echo and Kaze parts in it, and it's more of a filler, but you do get to find out what happened to Lloyd. As for Kaze being Morro... sticks and stones may break my bones, but I'll never tell a secret.

Isabella camovic: Yeah, I won't be using the burping idea. But I will be using the Amusement Park and bedtime story ideas, although not likely in this story. Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the sequel. They will be put in though, promise! Also, I've put a load of stuff about what I have planned so far (no big spoilers though) for the sequel in the bottom AN.

Anonymous7: Thank you! And yeah, there is quite a few plot twisting in this. A lot will be resolved in this, but some will go out into the sequel.

Chapter Fifteen:

Awaken

He drifted, between the realms of timeless darkness and reality. He was numb, hardly able to open his eyelids the few times he was conscious enough to try. His mind whirred and spun like a typhoon, a dull ache settling in the back of his spine.

A tapping, on his cheek. A voice, one he could not decipher, a jumble of noise in his head. Shaking.

After a few tries, he was able to open his eyes a crack, only to be assaulted by bright lights. With a weak grunt, his eyes slid closed again. The voice persisted. He drifted away.

Sometime later- a minute, a month, he didn't know- he was being lifted. Hands held his limbs, moving him as carefully as possible. He was placed on something soft, but firm. Leather straps curled around his body, the click of buckles. He tried to struggle. They forced him back into place.

Beeping. Constant. An annoyance that hurt his forehead. He tried to turn his head away, to at least muffle it. A hand laid on his chest, a voice in his ear. Then he was gone again.

Awake. Asleep. He was having trouble telling them apart.

He stood before a monster. Its skin was charred black. Its hair was dark and wiry beneath its helmet. The monster was taller than him, towering, looking down at him with crimson eyes and jagged teeth. For a moment, he was scared, his heart hammering in his chest.

Then the monster smiled. It's skin lightened, its helmet melted upon its head, turning its hair grey. Wrinkles appeared across its face. Its teeth turned blunt. The rage in its red eyes melted away, replaced by something that sent a warm feeling shooting up his chest.

The monster had been replaced by a man, an elderly man. Mesmerised, he reached towards him with a strangely short arm. The man curled his fingers around his own. His whole hand hardly fit in his palm.

"It's okay," the man whispered, his voice the softest thing he'd ever heard, "It's okay, Lloyd."

Abruptly, he realised he was crying. The tears trailed down his cheeks in silent rivers, dripping off his chin and onto his shirt. He couldn't remember when he'd started.

The man stepped closer, whipping away his tears, but they were quickly replaced by more. He wasn't sure why he was crying, but he knew it was for a valid reason. If only he could remember what that reason was.

The man's eyes were soft with concern. His heart twisted. He didn't want to worry the man.

"It's okay," the man muttered, pulling his oddly small body closer into a hug. He clutched at him, burying his head into his shoulder. His voice was caught in his throat. He tried to speak, to say something, but his tongue fumbled in his mouth and what was supposed to be a sentence turned into blubbering.

The man's arms tightened around him. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, thick with tears that he refused to shed, "It's okay, son."

He drifted.

Ever since Jay was little, he'd always had an excitable energy around him. When he was on his way to an amusement park with his parents, he'd run ahead and urge them to hurry up. When it was the night before Christmas or his birthday or any holiday in general, he'd be sitting up in his bed, bouncing up and down until he finally passed out. When he'd finally figured out a way to make his latest invention work, even if it was two in the morning and he was half asleep or if he was in the middle of a shower, he'd be shooting towards his workshop, sometimes with nothing but a towel on.

When Nya had agreed to go on a date with him, he'd been pacing up and down the halls, all around his workshop, mumbling what he was going to say underneath his breath and then snapping at himself when he realised how stupid it sounded. When he was watching Zane refusing to let go of the Overlord, he'd screamed and screamed, running to and fro in a terrified fit, until he was dragged down into the sewers.

It had only been the aftermath of that event, with ice solid on the streets and along the buildings of Ninjago, that Jay had felt as though every last bit of energy had been drained from his body.

He pushed the thought away, to the dark corners of his mind that he would never allow anyone to see. Now was not the time. Not now.

His phone still clutched in his hand, his heart thumping in his ears. His legs moved, one foot after the other, faster and faster as his nervous energy was channelled into a run terrifyingly similar to one he'd done when he'd thought his dad had died.

Jay was fast.

Sometimes, though, he wasn't fast enough.

Silence covered him like a blanket. All he could hear was the steady beat of his heart in his chest and his own soft breathing. He was comfy, and yet uncomfortable at the same time.

Kai forced open his eyes, blinking rapidly when they were assaulted by bright lights and white walls. He coughed, which he immediately regretted, groaning as he became aware of the pulsing pain all along his body.

"Kai?" The bed dipped, and a gentle hand settled in his hair. Kai blinked again, looking towards the blurred figure sitting next to him. It took a moment, but his vision slowly settled, and he was greeted with the sight of a relieved looking Misako.

"M-Misako?" Again, Kai coughed, desperately trying to stifle it when hot pain shot up his front, but this only made things worse, sending him into the most painful coughing fit he'd ever experienced.

A glass of water was thrust in front of his face, and Kai gulped it down greedily, cool water trickling down the sides of his mouth. When he'd finished, Misako took the glass away, and Kai allowed himself to take in his surroundings.

He was in what could only be a hospital room. The walls and the floor were stark white, and there was a shuttered window over to his right and a closed door to his left. The room was mostly bare, apart from a few random chairs scattered about, which had some familiar coloured blankets strown on them, and medical equipment. Curiously, none of the machines were on. An oxygen mask sat on the table beside him, and his favourite red blanket had been placed over the white one.

His burnt skin tingled, and he clenched his eyes shut, the scorching explosion that had enveloped him burning in his mind like an eternal furnace of agony. He took steady breaths, his chest aching. The bandages wrapped around his body were tight, almost uncomfortably so, and beneath them his skin throbbed.

Kai remembered, when he was very young, how he'd often burn himself while trying to help his father in the blacksmith. Eventually, it had gotten so bad and so often that his mother had refused to let him anyone near the workshop for almost three months, before his father had convinced her to let him continue to help by promising to keep him away from the dangerous stuff.

A small smile tugged at Kai's lips, but it was quick to fall when pain shot up his cheeks. He turned back to Misako, who was switching switches and turning cogs on the medical machines. His eyes wandered, and his heart froze in his chest.

Across from him, closest to the window, was another bed. The figures blond hair was bright in the hospital's light, and the steady rise and fall of their chest was the only thing stopping Kai from leaping from his bed right then and there. Much like his own, a green blanket was spread out over the hospital's white one.

Misako followed his gaze, and finally shattered the silence that had descended upon them, "Don't worry. He's fine, just a little banged up."

Kai's mouth had gone mysteriously dry. He swallowed, licking his lips, "What... What's happened?"

Misako sighed, "A lot." She sat back down on the bed, having finally ceased fiddling with the machines, "What's the last thing you remember, Kai?"

The ninja took a moment to answer. The blast itself flashed before his eyes. He remembered screaming, screaming louder than he'd ever screamed before, and for the first time in his life he'd actually found himself fearing the fire that surrounded him. Not even when he was saving Nya from Lord Garmadon, all those many years ago when he'd first met the original three Ninja, had he been frightened of the lava or the fire. Weary, yes. But not frightened.

"The explosion."

Misako watched him for a long moment, but Kai said no more. She glanced over at her unconscious son, then back at him. "Anything else?"

He hesitated, before shaking his head. "Just pain." Kai's gaze returned to Lloyd's prone form, "What happened to him?"

"He and the other Ninja," Misako began, completely aware of the subject change, "Were called to the police station. Something about them capturing one of Basilisk's. Then the power just... went out. I left to try and help the doctors keep the patients alive." he eyes glazed over, a faraway look taking over her aging face. When she spoke again, her voice was so quiet Kai almost didn't catch it, "We weren't able to save them all."

A thick silence descended upon them once more. Kai's heart plummeted to his stomach, unwilling tears stinging the back of his eyes. His fingers twitched, and he longed to curl his hands into fists, but they were far too heavily bandaged, pain blazing through them when he moved too much.

He swallowed, "And... and Lloyd?"

Misako blinked, shaking herself from whatever hellish memories she'd been dragged into, "I'm not too sure. He was found in the middle of the street, tied up in a net. They brought him here and they fixed him up. I called the others; they should be arriving any moment now."

Kai nodded, not tearing his eyes from Lloyd. He couldn't see his face, for it was turned away, and instead took to staring at the back of his blond head. His entire body groaned and screeched, but that didn't stop him from forcing himself into a sitting position.

"Kai," said Misako, her voice taking on a firm tone that the Ninja had long since grown used to over the years, "You shouldn't be sitting up."

"I'm going to check on him." Kai grunted, making to pull his legs out from under the blankets and onto the floor. However, Misako stopped him, placing a firm yet gentle hand on his thigh.

"You're going to hurt yourself more."

He glared at her, "I'm going to check on him."

"He's fine."

"I don't care."

A beat of silence, Kai glaring into Misako's firm eyes. Finally, she sighed.

"I'll drag his bed over. Will that do?"

After a brief moment of thought, Kai nodded, satisfied. Misako sighed again, this time in relief, and stood up, giving the fire ninja a light touch to his unbandaged shoulder as he laid back down. Kai watched, adjusting the blankets on top of him slightly, as Misako began to push Lloyd's bed closer to his own.

It screeched across the floor loudly, but since neither he nor Lloyd were attached to any machines, it was over quickly. Lloyd's bed was shoved against Kai's, forming a makeshift double bed.

Almost immediately, Kai reached out, gently touching the younger ninja's cheek. Lloyd didn't stir as his brother turned his head, nor did he wince when he lightly brushed his thumb against his stitched earlobe.

Misako watched from the other side of her son's bed, a smile on her lips as she watched the scene. It made her so happy, and yet so sad, seeing that her son had made his own family in her and Garmadon's absence.

"What are his injuries?" Kai asked, his voice quiet, as though fearing he'd awaken the sleeping ninja. Misako glanced at the clipboard placed at the end of her son's bed.

"His scalp was ripped a bit," she said, "Probably from his hair being pulled out. He's got a torn earlobe, a pretty deep cut on his cheek, he got shot in the hand, his shoulder's fractured and he's got a nasty bump on the back of his head."

Astonished, Kai shook his head, a rage deep inside his stomach bubbling to life. His voice was hard, almost a hiss, when he spoke next, "Who?"

Misako sent him a weary look, "Basilisk. Most probably, anyway. I don't know much; I've been here the whole time."

Kai found himself too angry to give an answer, so he said nothing. Rage boiled and churned in his stomach, his jaw clenching and his hand unconsciously tightening on the sleeve of Lloyd's shirt. He should have been there, out fighting, helping, instead of taking a long nap in bed. Maybe if he'd been there, Lloyd wouldn't have got hurt.

"What about the others?" Kai asked, not looking away from Lloyd, "Are they hurt too?"

Misako shook her head, "Nothing critical, at least. The only reason Lloyd's here is because they got a lucky blow to the head."

Kai remained silent, his eyes trailing down to Lloyd's heavily bandaged hand. A bullet wound. That one had the highest chance of scarring, if only faintly. Basilisk didn't have any guns when they'd fought them in the forest; they had the farthest things from guns.

The door burst open, causing both Kai and Misako to jump and twist towards it. Pain zapped up Kai's body, and he grunted, grinding his teeth together to stop himself from crying out.

Jay stood in the doorway, panting, sweat beading his brow. From behind him came an equally exhausted, if not more so, Cole, who slumped against the doorway, clutching at the stitch in his side.

Upon spotting Kai, they're eyes widened, and with a sudden burst of energy they were shooting towards him. A startled yelp tore from the ninja's throat, just as Jay and Cole collapsed beside his bed and wrapped him into one of the gentlest and sweatiest hugs he'd ever experienced.

His skin crawled and burned, but it was barrable, so Kai allowed his brothers to hug him. After a long moment, they pulled away, Kai's eyes widening in surprised when he realised their eyes were shiny with tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately. The two hastily wiped at their eyes, sending him wide smiles.

"Nothing," said Cole, "We're just... We're just glad you're okay."

Before Kai could even think of a way to respond, the door opened again, a lot less violent than the way Jay and Cole had entered. Wu, Nya, Zane and Seamus came in one by one, large smiles plastered on their faces when they spotted him.

"Kai!" Nya exclaimed, rushing towards him and gently wrapping her arms around him. Kai was quick to return the hug, holding her close despite the way his entire front burned at the action.

"Hey, sis," he said, "Miss me?"

Nya laughed, a small, relieved laugh, "You wish, bozo."

Kai raised his head at Zane's approach, who knelt down next to Nya, Jay and Cole, "I'm glad you've finally awoken, Kai."

"Yeah," Kai licked his lips, Nya releasing him to sit back on her haunches, "How long was I out?"

"Not all that long," said Wu, moving to stand beside Misako, leaving Seamus by the door, "Just two days, in total," he sent the fire ninja a smile, "I am happy to see you are recovering quickly.

Not quick enough.

Kai forced the thought to the back of his mind, turning to Lloyd again and directing everyone else's attention to him.

"Is he okay?" Jay asked, uncharacteristically quiet. Misako nodded.

"He was just knocked unconscious. He'll be rather sore, but it's nothing he won't be able to bounce back from."

"What's been happening while I was out?" asked Kai, tearing his eyes from his younger brother to look at the others. They shared a look with each other.

Zane was the first to speak. "We got you here as quick as we could. Just this morning, an officer had come in to tell us that Basilisk had sent us a video. It-" his voice cracked, and he came to a stop. Kai's brow furrowed in concern.

"It what?"

Nya sighed, "It was of Echo. They tortured him."

Mouth popping open, Kai's eyes widened to the size of dinner plate, "What? But he's- he's just a kid!"

"Yes," Wu muttered, face grim, "Yes, he is."

A silence came over them, Kai taking this moment to process the information he'd been given. He stared at his bandaged hands, flexing his stiff fingers and gritting his teeth against the dull ache that crawled along them.

His eyes trailed towards Zane, who was staring at the floor but not seeing it, arms crossed over his chest. He, like the others, was dressed in civilian clothes, the type they'd usually wear when they didn't want to get spotted out in public. Lloyd and himself, however, were wearing a hospital gown covered in purple polka dots.

"Where are my clothes?" Kai asked, shattering the silence. Nya winced.

"They were sort of... burnt off," she said.

"I will bring you some of your civilian clothes, Kai," said Wu, "And order you another gi."

Kai sighed, rubbing at one of his eyes, "Alright."

"How are you feeling?" asked Jay, "Do you want some pain killers? You're pretty banged up."

He considered it for a moment, but was quick to shake his head, "No, I'm fine."

They sent him disbelieving looks, but said no more. One, if not all of them, would most likely push the matter later.

A groan sounded beside him, and Kai's head snapped towards Lloyd, sitting up almost automatically, albeit only slightly. The younger ninja's eyes fluttered open slowly, his face scrunching when he was assaulted by the room's bright lighting, much like Kai had. Abruptly, the light's dimmed, and Kai glanced over at the door to see Seamus removing his hand from the switch.

Slowly, Lloyd blinked open his eyes, taking a moment for them to adjust properly. His red gaze locked with Kai's, and for a moment they just stared at each other, the green ninja looking slightly dazed. He blinked.

"Kai?"

"Hey," said Kai, "You okay?"

Lloyd blinked again, as though struggling to process the question. He raised his hand, pressing his fingers to his forehead almost as though he were mentally perplexed. After a moment, his hand dropped back to his side, he looked back to Kai and then around at all the others.

Finally, he turned to look back at the ceiling and grimaced, "Ow."

"I'll go get the doctor," Seamus said, causing most of them to jump; they'd forgotten he was there.

As the ex-slave slipped through the doorway, Kai laid himself back down, his arms having started to ache from holding him up. There was another brief moment of silence, Misako moving to sit on the end of Lloyd's bed.

The others grabbed their respected chair and dragged them closer to the makeshift double bed, settling themselves down and pulling their own blankets across their laps. Sensei Wu seated himself on the end of Kai's bed.

"What happened to you guys?" Lloyd asked, not looking away from the ceiling. Kai frowned, concern growing in his chest. The younger ninja seemed slightly off.

"I was able to make some of the vans crash," said Nya, "Burst the tiers of as many as I could before they could take off. There was..." she glanced at the floor, "A lot of blood."

"Did you guys fight them in civilian clothes?" asked Kai. Cole shook his head.

"No, we just changed once we got into the city, to avoid reporters. At least, that's what I did."

"Violet's gone."

Seven startled pairs of eyes turned to Zane, who refused to look them. Kai wondered if he'd even been listening to the conversation.

"She just..." the nindroid shook his head, "Vanished."

"Vanished?" repeated Jay, "How did she vanish?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Zane, causing Kai's eyes to widen; it was very rarely that their ice brother got distressed, "She began walking around the table, the lights came back on and she was just gone!"

"Why was she walking around the table?" asked Misako.

Zane shook his head, glaring at his hands, "I don't know."

"Did you scan the place?" asked Nya.

"Of course I did!" Zane snapped. Nya flinched away from him, more in surprise than anything else. Even Lloyd, who seemed to have been lost in his own thoughts, turned to look at him with startled eyes.

The shocked silence dragged on. Zane's cheeks began to tint blue, and he bowed his head to stare at his hands. Wu cleared his throat.

"Zane," he said, rising, "Come with me, please."

Zane didn't get up, awkwardly fiddling with his sleeve. Wu stopped at the door, but didn't turn to face them.

"Now."

Wincing, Zane got up and followed their sensei out the door, which closed behind them. The silence that followed was startled, and Jay and Cole shared surprised looks. Zane rarely, if ever, snapped.

"This is really getting to him," Kai said, realising just how much he'd missed out, "Who's Violet?"

"A, uh," Nya shook her head slowly, still having trouble processing what just took place, "She's with Basilisk. The police caught her and we went over to interrogate her. That's when the blackout happened."

"She must have gotten captured on purpose," said Misako, closing her eyes with a sigh, "They had planned this."

Kai turned his head to watch Lloyd. He was staring at the wall now, absentmindedly picking at the bandages on his hands- both of them, he noticed. He must have gotten burnt too.

"Injuries?" he asked, startling his siblings out of their thoughts.

"Stab wound," muttered Jay, gently pressing his thumb against his shoulder, the bandages hidden beneath his clothes, "From before."

"Lloyd burnt his hands when you were hurt," Nya recalled, "Had to rip off your clothes before you could get burnt anymore."

"Couldn't you have just hit me with some water?"

"I did," said Nya, shame coming over her features, "Eventually."

"You were shocked," said Cole, "It's not your fault."

Nya didn't answer.

"Besides a few cuts and bruises," Jay said, wrapping an arm around Nya's shoulders in silent comfort, "We're fine. Nothing we can't bounce back from."

Kai sent him a genuine smile, although at the back of his mind he was still scolding himself for not being there. He should have been there. Protecting them.

"Did 'Violet' say anything?" Kai asked. Cole shrugged.

"Not much," he admitted, "Wouldn't give us a surname. Lloyd suspects she grew up on the streets, like Morro had."

Kai's shoulders tensed at the mention of the ghost, his eyes automatically turning to Lloyd, but his younger brother made no move to show he was listening, "Why Morro?"

"He didn't have a surname either," Nya explained.

"She also said that Basilisk took Echo because they thought he was Zane," said Jay, Kai's eyes widening and his head snapping towards him.

"What? Why?"

Jay shook his head, "They weren't after him specifically. She said they would have taken any one of us, all of us if given the chance."

Kai frowned, "But why? We never even knew they existed until now."

Nya sighed, "We... we don't know."

A beat of silence. Misako broke it.

"Did she say anything else?"

"Lloyd asked her who Basilisk was," Cole recalled, "And she said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but I'll never tell a secret.' Whatever that means."

"Sticks and stone?" Kai repeated.

Cole nodded, "Yeah."

"You mean," he frowned, looking between the four of his siblings that were in the room. Lloyd turned to look at him. "Like... like Stiix?"

The silence that came upon them was startled, wide-eyed, a realisation that sent mouths agape and hearts stopping.

"Stiix," breathed Lloyd, "They hate us for what happened back with Morro, don't they?"

Cole swore, sitting back in his chair and pressing his hand to his forehead. Misako didn't even glare at him.

"Oh my god," muttered Nya, "Why didn't we realise that before?"

"We need to go tell Zane," said Jay, shooting to his feet, "We need to-"

The door opened, cutting him off. Six heads snapped towards it, watching as Seamus and a doctor came in and closed it behind them.

"Oh, hello," the doctor smiled, "You've woke up a lot earlier then we expected."

A bit of a filler. It turned out a lot longer than I expected.

Anyway, some of you have been asking about what I've been planning for the sequel (*cough*Isabella*cough*), so I've decided to tell you some of the things that I've got down for it that won't spoil the rest of Empty Echoes or the main plot of the sequel.

First, I don't have a title yet, although that's not a big concern. There's a chance that it could be similar to "Empty Echoes," but we'll see.

So, in the sequel, it will detail the aftermath of Empty Echoes. Trauma, nightmares and healing, both literally and metaphorically. There will also be a small rewrite of Day of the Departed, although nothing major and the ending will be relatively the same. I will NOT be going into Hands of Time, mostly because it ended on such a cliffhanger.

Much like in Empty Echoes, the first few chapters of the sequel won't have much action. There'll be coping, moving into the Temple, and quite a few fluffy moments (I'll be using some of Isabella camovic's ideas, so feel free to make suggestions yourself).

Also, Soren, Seamus, Carrot, Kaze and the White Rags will be coming back for the sequel. Nelson and Skales Jr could possibly return as well, but there's no guarantee. We'll also be going into more detail of just who Kaze is and how he got his name. Not only will there be more about Kaze, but also Carrot, Violet and Soren.

The White Rags will also be playing a bigger role, rather than just the minions they currently are. However, I will share no more about that.

I will tell you now, not every little thing in Empty Echoes is going to be resolved by the end of this one. The White Rags, for example, as well as Carrot. Which is pretty much the main reason I decided to split it into two parts.

So that's all I'll be telling you about the sequel for now. Hope it's captured your interest a little and that you're enjoying the story so far!