Review Replies:

Isabella camovic: Aww, that would be cute. But I've already got a lot of stuff planned for that part, so we'll see if I decide to put it in or not. As for fluff at the ending of Empty Echoes, there will certainly be some between Echo and Zane, but it won't be ending on a fluffy scene. And yes, Echo and Kaze do technically escape in this chapter. As for how many more chapters there'll be, I think there will be quite a few more. We'll probably end in the thirties, I think, if I continue like this.

LucyBrick123: Haha, I don't mind at all! I'm so happy you like this enough to praise me with every review XXD As for what will happen to Echo, my lips are sealed.

Anonymous7: Bleh, school. Glad you don't mind the cliffies all that much, 'cause there's another one here (sorries). While the Ninja running into Echo and Kaze would be good, I'm afraid that doesn't happen.

RebelutionaryWrites: Aw, you're making me blush! I haven't actually seen any fanfics where Cole dies, but I'll take your word for it. Also, while I don't ship as hard as other authors, I still think Jaya make a cute couple and will gladly keep it alive in my stories, especially since it's canon and I like it. Kai can be very jerky at times, but I believe that he's way more than that, and I try my best to explore that to the best of my ability (he reminds me a bit of Raphael from Ninja Turtles). Also, who doesn't like background characters? Especially cute little kiddies that never get enough screen times. I have officially decided that no one writes enough about precious little Echo. And, last but not least, thank you so much! I try my best to make my OC's as realistic as possible. I don't really like OC's being in stories all that much, especially one's that are mysteriously friends with the characters and have always known them, so I only tend to write OC's like Seamus, Soren, Carrot and Basilisk, mostly for villains and to move the plot along. Wow, this was a long reply, sorry ::D Thanks for the review, it was one of the best ones so far!

toothlessturtle21: Thank you! You've got no idea how happy it makes me to know you're loving this story so much, and that, despite being halfway through, it's still getting new readers. I hope you continue to enjoy my story, I've been putting a lot of hard work into it!

Ninjagorulz: Thanks! I'm glad you love reading this just as much as I love writing it. As for the alerts, I've been having a bit of trouble with it too. Must be another FFN glitch, I'm sure it'll be fixed soon. I had to send my friend Gommie one of my previous chapters because she couldn't see it even after two days of it being posted.

Guest: ... Thank you so much.

TheAmberShadow: A Guest has informed me that Dr Julian's first name is Nikolai (the very same guest above this reply). Garmadon's first name being Montogermy is a good guess, and I must admit, I would probably choose to be called Garmadon instead as well XXD Lloyd being poisoned... you'll have to wait to find out, I suppose. Yes, I would probably feel the same, but this doesn't mean Chope is going to risk his life or anything to help Echo and Kaze, even if he does point them in the right direction. And yes, whoever Kaze is, Lloyd will be in for a shock. Also, I have officially decided (in this story, at least) that Echo will be around seven or eight, nine at the oldest and five at the youngest. Haven't decided yet.

Chapter Nineteen:

Drowning

The tunnels varied in size. There were no parts that branched off in different directions, but at times the roof was so low that they had to duck, or the walls so close together that they had to go through sideways. It was dark, too. Somehow, impossibly, darker than the corridors had been.

They walked for a long time. Limped, really. Felt the walls with blind fingers, stumbled over rocks and potholes. Echo's heart ticked in his ears. It was the only audible noise, apart from their laboured breathing and the constant dripping of water.

Abruptly, Kaze came to a stop, and Echo stumbled right into him, almost causing them to fall over. He kept his balance by pure chance, hand latching onto a rock jutting out of the wall and dislodging it, leaving it to shatter on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked, desperately trying to keep his raspy voice low.

"Crap," muttered Kaze, voice a hushed whisper, terror rising in his tone, "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap."

"Kaze?" said Echo, fear causing his heart to tick faster, "What- What's wrong?"

"It's ended," Kaze said, "Dammit, it's a deadend."

"W-What?" Echo stuttered, his hands starting to tremble, a lump forming in his throat, "B-But... he- he said this was the way out."

In answer, Kaze yelled a swear word, causing Echo to flinch violently. Kaze's leg lashed out in a fit of rage to kick the wall- only to go right through.

He gasped, almost falling over backwards, and quickly brought back his leg. There was a short silence, Echo staring at the direction he knew Kaze was in (it was so dark they couldn't even see each other), frozen in place.

Then, so suddenly that he gasped, Kaze crouched down, forcing Echo with him. He heard Kaze rummaging around the floor, pushing away the fragments of the rock that had been lodged out of place. There was stillness, then a brief silence.

"It's just low," said Kaze. He gave a small, relieved laugh. "We can squeeze through."

Echo let out a long breath, a pained smile tugging at his lips. Kaze shifted, unconsciously pulling Echo closer to his side.

"Think you can crawl under?" he asked. Echo licked his lips, nodding. Then, realising Kaze couldn't see him, spoke.

"Yeah. I've got this."

He couldn't see it, but he was sure Kaze was smiling. He patted him on the back. "Okay, good. I'll go first, okay? Don't follow until I tell you to."

Silently, Echo nodded, stopping not a moment later when he realised- once again- that Kaze couldn't see him. He squeezed him on the shoulder, then his touch vanished. Echo could hear him scrambling against the ground, then squeezing through the gap, shoes scraping against the rough rock that was the floor.

Wincing, Echo shifted, putting all of his weight on his non-injured leg and toppling over onto his side. He pushed himself up on his elbows, listening as Kaze continued to crawl away. Suddenly nervous, he glanced over his shoulder, as though he could actually see what was behind him.

There was another moment of silence. Then Kaze's voice drifted through.

"I'm out on the other side," he said, "It's not that long. Come on, your turn."

"Okay," said Echo, more to himself than Kaze. He took a deep breath, then began to crawl on his hands and knees, wincing as he banged his head on the low ceiling (if it could even be called that). Forced to go down on his stomach, Echo dragged himself along the ground, a pained whimper escaping his lips as pain shot up his front.

"You're almost there."

Echo clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth against the pain, hands scrambling along the dirt and rocks. His head emerged into slightly less stuffy air, soon followed by his shoulders and torso. Hands gripped him under the armpits, helping to pull him out quicker. Agony shot up his front, a pained cry passing his lips.

"Are you okay?" Kaze asked, once he'd been freed, the droid panting in his arms. Echo's answer was a quiet whimper.

Fingers, cold and dirty, trailed along his front, gently brushing over jutting bumps and twisted parts, searching for an open wound or anything dangerous.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My-" Echo grimaced, "My front."

"Your entire front?"

"Y-Yeah."

There was a silence, Kaze still gently running his hand up and down Echo's chest and stomach in search of anything critically wrong. He sighed. "It's too dark to see anything properly," he said, "Think you can keep going?"

Echo took a steadying breath, "We-We can keep going."

"Alright," said Kaze, "Tell me if it gets any worse."

Echo returned his arm around Kaze's shoulders, the tunnel now wide enough for them to walk side by side, and began to limp further down. His heart continued its steady rhythm of nervous ticks.

In an attempt to get some idea of his surroundings, Echo reached out slowly with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Kaze, fingers grazing the rough rock of the wall, closer than Echo had expected. Water dripped off the wall and onto his fingers, trailing down his hands and up his arms. It reminded him of Nya.

Then, abruptly, the wall vanished. Echo stepped into something cold and wet reaching right up to his knees, and Kaze came to a halt, muscles stiffening and breath catching in his throat.

"This is a deep puddle," Echo muttered. When Kaze didn't answer, he sent him a concerned glance in his direction, despite know he couldn't see it.

Kaze swallowed, "Okay. Uh, it should dry up just ahead. It's just a puddle."

His voice betrayed his words. Echo wondered what was wrong.

For another moment, they stood, not moving. Then Kaze stepped forward, breath hitching from something other than the cold, and Echo began to follow them- and then they suddenly sank, the water coming up to Echo's chest, who gave a startled yell, water pouring into his mouth. Beside him, Kaze shouted a curse word.

They scrambled backwards, dripping wet, back onto the dry part of the tunnel. Echo sat down, shivering violently, hugging himself in an attempt to preserve warmth. He could hear Kaze panting a little way to his right.

"We'll go back," Kaze said, after a long moment, "We'll go back and- and find another way."

Silently, teeth chattering, Echo nodded. Kaze reached out and blindly gripped his arm, pulling it over his shoulders and helping him stand up. They turned around.

Yelling. Shouting. In a language they couldn't understand. The ticking bounced off the walls.

With a scared scream, Echo scrambled backwards, his arm leaving Kaze's shoulders, and fell right into the water.

The cold pierced him like daggers. Shot up his spine like an electric shock. There was nothing but the cold and the ticking and the terror raging through his brain. He tried to kick his legs, thrashed his arms.

He couldn't swim.

Hands gripped his arms, and he was forcefully pulled out of the water. Echo took in a large gasp, coughing up the freezing liquid, brain a muddled mess of cold and fright.

"How long can you hold your breath?" Kaze asked. The pounding of feet was getting louder and louder. The only reason they were on top of them was because of the tunnel's tendency to grow smaller and lower.

"I- Pretty long," Echo gasped, "When I actually mean to go under. B-But I can't swim."

Kaze swore for what must have been the hundredth time that day. The guards were getting louder. Coming closer. Echo would have started crying, if he'd possessed the ability to.

"Don't let go of me."

Echo's grip automatically tightened around Kaze. He clenched his eyes shut. Took a deep breath They didn't have a choice.

They jumped in.

The corridors were dark, and Lloyd had to keep up a near-constant ball of green energy, Zane doing his best to help by making his whole body glow an ice blue, to light the way. It would cast shadows along the walls, like clawed hands reaching for them, cruel faces taunting.

Zane wondered how Basilisk had even built this place. How they even got around. Perhaps there were secret passageways? Or they all had some kind of map on them? Or maybe there were markings on the walls that they themselves only see as random scratches?

With that thought, he began to pay more attention to the walls, eyes scanning them in search of out of place markings or possible secret passageways or levers.

They were quick to come to another crossroad, but no matter how much PIXAL scanned their surroundings, it was impossible to tell where they went. It was Zane himself that chose this time; he went left.

"Wait," said Cole, and Zane came to a stop, "We should mark the walls. So we don't get turned around."

Silently, Lloyd placed his hand on the wall, fingers spread. There was a soft green glow, and then when he pulled his hand away, there was a neon green hand print in his wake.

They kept going, running into crossroad after crossroad. Lloyd made a habit of marking the walls every few feet, and Zane began to worry that he was using too much energy. He shouldn't be straining himself.

"Lloyd," he said, as the green ninja finished marking another wall, "You should put out that light. We'll be able to see fine with mine."

Lloyd blinked at him, surprised by the request. Then he gave a small shrug, curled his hand into a fist and put out the light. It darkened noticeably, but Zane only increased his own bodily glow to replace it. The hand-print marking shone like a glow in the dark sticker.

They kept going for a long time, footstep constantly bouncing off the walls and water dripping on their heads. Zane worried that someone will hear them, but then he decided that it would probably be helpful if someone did and came to investigate. They could certainly use a guide.

They turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt. Zane's power source dropped to his stomach. Jay groaned behind him.

A wall loomed before them. To make matters worse, there were no crossroads nearby. They'd have backtrack.

"Great," Cole sighed.

Zane's jaw clenched, annoyance flickering across his eyes. He spun on his heel and stubbornly began making his way back, only to come to a startled stop as spikes shot out of the floor inches in front of him, their tops vanishing into the blackness of the ceiling. Zane stumbled backwards, almost tripping on the uneven ground.

Lloyd whispered something in a different language, and it took a moment for Zane's translator to automatically kick in. Serpentine. Since when did Lloyd speak Serpentine?

He shook his head, pushing that matter to the back of his mind to deal with later. Jay, finally realising what had happened, gave a dismayed cry.

"Okay," said Nya, mouth open slightly, "Okay, uh... crap."

"Zane," Seamus said, but when the nindroid looked at him, the ex-slave's attention was not on the blockade, "Can you give us some light?"

Blinking, Zane stepped closer to Seamus, following his gaze to the wall. His eyes widened as his light covered it, revealing markings engraved in the stone. Zane channelled an extra burst of energy, his light stretching past the markings and up the wall, but the ceiling remained hidden.

"If you have me," read Cole, "You want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I?"

"It's... a riddle?" Nya asked. Lloyd groaned, massaging his forehead with a grimace.

"But it doesn't make any sense!" Jay exclaimed.

"That's how riddles work, Jay," said Cole, before turning to Zane hopefully, "Any ideas?"

Pushing down the irritation that was bubbling in his stomach- they didn't have time for this- Zane forced his attention to the riddle, humming thoughtfully.

"Well," he said, "It could be an object, I suppose. Something that someone else wants and won't give back?"

Seamus shook his head, "No, riddles are more complicated than that. The answer's right in front of us."

"Like always," Lloyd muttered, more to himself than the others. Zane frowned at him, watching as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He looked so tired, like he was about to collapse on the spot, and he was avoiding looking in Zane's general direction. Then again, he was shining rather bright.

"How many guesses do we get?" asked Nya, "Three? As many as we like?"

"I'm scared to find out," said Cole.

"Is it a secret?" asked PIXAL, broadcasting her voice so the others could hear. Zane frowned, confused, but then the wall began to shift. The floor shook and trembled and very nearly sent them all tumbling to the floor, Jay grabbing Lloyd around the waist to help him stay upright. The sound of stone scraping against stone echoed down the corridors like a massive angry dog, causing Zane's ears to pound.

The wall split in two, sliding out of sight and revealing another passage. The trembling stopped, dust gently settling back down, silence once more filling the area. A long moment passed, the silence stretching on in their surprise. Finally, Seamus cleared his throat.

"Good job, PIXAL."

Cole, Jay and Nya snapped out of their shock and agreed, before quickly starting to make their way down the new corridor. Lloyd stood for a moment longer, rubbed at his face, and then followed, Seamus following close behind.

Zane blinked, smiled, and then made his way after them, "You are brilliant, PIXAL."

But PIXAL's face was of a considering frown in the corner of his screen, as though she were contemplating something she couldn't quite understand. "Zane?"

Her voice was hesitant. He frowned, smile falling, "What is it?"

"How does Seamus know my name?"

The sea crashed against the island's rocks, sending white spray and salty droplets flying into the air. He watched from the kitchen window, a smile on his metallic lips and a book forgotten in his lap.

His father sat at the table, scribbling away in an open journal. A frown was on his brow, and his eyes were hard, nose inches away from the paper. Zane had long ago learnt not to interrupt him when he was concentrating.

-His lungs were burning in his chest, begging for air, but there wasn't any air around him it was all water and the hand on his arm was so tight it was starting to hurt just as much as his chest-

Gizmo was busy doing the dishes, scrubbing away at the plates. Zane had wanted him to come play Hide and Seek, but Gizmo would always put his chores first. He was programmed as such, after all.

It was peaceful. With the waves, the birds, the quiet. It was almost always peaceful at the lighthouse. That's what happens when you live in the middle of the ocean with only three people- well, one person and two robots.

-His legs kicked and thrashed, eyes a faint glow in the darkness, as the tunnel became wider and wider until it was nothing but ice cold water-

Zane returned to his book, settling down in the window seat. He was still teaching himself to read, even after nearly three years of being active, but he was getting there. He wanted to surprise his father by reading out the big words later tonight.

The high pitched screech of the alarm caused him to jump, the clockwork of his power source beginning to tick faster and louder. Julian's hand spasmed, his pen clattering onto the table top, the blood draining from his face.

"Zane," he said, only glancing at him as he hurridly rose from his seat, "Get in the basement. Quickly!"

Abandoning his book, Zane scrambled from the window seat, floorboards creaking as he dashed down the stairs. The lever was pulled and he slipped through the secret entrance, the wall closing behind him.

-His entire body burned, his limbs had turned into lead, numb fingers reaching for the surface only to press against a thick layer of ice-

He stood near the closed entrance for a long moment, hugging himself, trying to quiet the ticking of his power source. Above him, the floorboards creaked as his father made his way over to the door.

BANG!

Wood slamming against wood, leaving Zane flinching violently. Footsteps, an army of them, right above his head. His father came to a stop.

"Julian," growled a familiar voice, one Zane had heard but had never seen the owner of, sending shivers running up his spine, "What's taking so long? We need those weapons NOW!"

-Sinking, sinking, the hand around his arm slipping away and he was plummeting, deeper, deeper, for he had not been programmed to swim-

There was another bang, a fist against the table. Zane pressed his back against the wall, sliding to the floor and burying his head in his knees, trying to stop himself from crying aloud lest they hear him.

"Y-Yes," his father stuttered, "You see, I-I just need a little more time-"

"You've had plenty of time!" The floorboards creaked again, the intruder moving towards his father, who backed away until his back was against a wall, directly above where Zane sat.

"Things like these are complicated," his father tried, "T-They take time-"

A thump. Julian gasped for breath. A hand around his throat.

There was a long moment of silence, nothing but his father gasping, trying to breathe. A small whimper escaped Zane's lips. Another moment passed. Then the intruder spoke.

"Search the lighthouse."

-Arms, wrapping around his torso, bubbles escaping his mouth and floating upwards until they popped, the ice and water in his throat and lungs-

Immediately, there was the sound of books being thrown on the floor, boxes being tipped over, plates shattering and tables tipping. Zane heard Gizmo give a frightened bleep, his wheels zipping along the floor as he found a place to hide.

It seemed to go on forever. He kept his eyes shut tight. This wasn't the first time they'd intruded on their home, but it was the first time they'd torn the place apart. He wondered what they were looking for. Why couldn't they just leave them alone?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the noise stopped. He peeked out from beneath his knees hesitantly, desperately hoping that they were gone. Zane raised his head, looking up at the ceiling- and his eyes locked with black holes, watching him through the small gaps in the floorboards.

A triumphant yell. "There's someone down there! There's someone beneath the floors!"

-Flying, zipping upwards, so fast that he was almost certain that a rocket was strapped to his back, and then the ice shattered as they collided, and he gasped, coughing up water, breathing, breathing, his breaths coming out in puffs of white-

Footsteps, running down the stairs. Boards crying out in protest. Armour clinking together. Weapons unsheathed. Julian yelled something Zane didn't catch. The skeleton continued to chant, again and again, a joyous yell, a manic laugh.

"There's someone down there! Beneath the floors! Beneath the floors!"

Beneath the floors.

He drowned.

Aaaaand cliffhanger. This is starting to get slightly out of hand. But whatever, an update's an update, even if it ends in one of the evilest ways humanly possible.

Anyhow, the reason behind the main purpose of the flashbacks is starting to fall into place. Echo and Kaze have either escaped or drowned. Or has one of them escaped and one of them drowned?

Meanwhile, the Ninja and Seamus are starting to encounter the labyrinth's defences, PIXAL's confused and Lloyd's slowly getting worse. Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to die.

If they aren't already dead.