Review Replies:

ABCSKW123-IX: Aw, thanks! I try to keep the characters as in-character as possible. I'm so happy you're enjoying it enough to binge read it. I must agree with you on the seasons focusing too much on a single Ninja lately; they hadn't started to do that until about season six, I think. Maybe even season three, although I don't think it was as bad during four and five. Anyway, so happy you're enjoying this! The explanation as to why Echo remembers Skybound will come eventually, although it'll probably be stretched out into the sequel.

ChoyofBonk: Haha, yeah, he's a golden labrador named Django. Had him since he was a puppy. He... does make things a lot less lonely. And my desk is actually pretty cluttered, also covered in scraps of paper and pencil shavings, but I think most desks are like that XXD Oh, wow, you actually think I'm cool. That... okay, that is a first. Thanks.

Ebony umbreon: Heh, thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Good luck with yours too! And yeah, Ed and Edna have definitely gotten used to this by now. *snort* Yeah, she's going to be upset when she finds out what happened. Hmm, actually, yes, Ronin not showing up but have led to better results. Then again, Ed and Edna wouldn't have been able to fend off the White Rags. They came on their own, remember?

Isabella camovic: Thank you, I appreciate it. You're, of course, forgiven. And it's not the requests I didn't like- a lot of them are quite good, so feel free to keep asking them, please!- but I'd seriously appreciate it if you stopped pushing for updates. Thanks so much for understanding. (Still considering the puppy idea, by the way!)

Vixenlovesninjago: Um, thank you. A lot of people said that, actually, which surprised me.

Loki God of Evil: Oh, well, that's unpleasant. Movie Mode's another story of mine- a Minecraft: Story Mode one- and wow, I actually have, haven't I? Haha XXD Thanks!

Anonymous7: Thanks! Glad you're liking it so much. My summer's been alright, if a bit stressful with all the homework. Yeah, aren't I just evil? Hope ya enjoy!

Ninjagorulz: Thank you! I'm really disappointed that there's not a lot of stories with Echo Zane in it. I'm so happy you're liking this!

TheAmberShadow: Haha, that's fine. It's nice to know you're still reading, even if you can't review all that much. Don't worry, Ed and Edna will be okay- a bit banged up, but okay.

KelpHero47: Haha XXD I think they're gonna give him more than just pepper spray once this is all over- a tracking device, probably. It might sound a little extreme, but considering the circumstances, I wouldn't blame them and would probably even suggest it. Besides, it would only be used in emergencies. Anyhow, glad you're liking this so much! Always happy to have a new reader ::D

Time Keeper: Um, you're welcome! And the song Echo was singing was 'Hello, My Baby' by Arthur Collins- the song Zane sings when he turns on his funny switch.

Guest: Haha, I ain't saying nothing! And thank you, I try very hard to keep the characters as in-character as possible. I hate it when people make them OOC for no reason, or 'exaggerate' a few characteristics. For example, Kai's anger. I've read quite a few fics where he's just this giant butthole that throws temper tantrums, which is actually incredibly far from his actual character when you think about it. While he can have a bit of a temper on him, he's actually more arrogant than hot-headed, and genuinely cares about his brothers and sister.

StoriesAreMagic: *snort* I like pie.

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Immobile

Lloyd hadn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he was jolted awake by a skull-shattering clang! At least, it felt like his skull had shattered.

Grunting, he pressed his palm to his forehead, but of course it did nothing to relieve his pounding brain. A hand grabbed his wrist, yanking it away from his face and almost dislocating his shoulder, his heart leaping in surprise. He heard a shout beside him, vaguely sounding like Cole, but he went silent when something sharp and cold was pressed against Lloyd's throat.

"You're gon' come quiet, a'right?" a husky voice said, a rank breath blowing into Lloyd's face. He scrunched his nose in distaste, but when he tried to pull away, a hand grabbed his hair, holding him in place. He grimaced, scalp tearing when the man jerked his hand, as though he were holding a dog by its collar.

"Okay, okay! We'll come quietly."

"Cole!"

Lloyd, realising his eyes were still shut, forced them open just in time to see Cole send Nya a look. Her mouth twisted downwards, but she said nothing else, tangling her hand in a still unconscious Jay's hair.

"That's a good lad," said the man, his breath hot on Lloyd's face, "Ge' up, the lot of ya."

Cole reached down and looped Kai's arm around his shoulders, helping him to his feet. He was awake, but in obvious pain from the way he was hunched in on himself, trying- and failing- to hold back his own grimace.

The man released Lloyd's hair, the knife pulling away from his throat. Giving him a half hearted glare that he only grinned at with rotting teeth, Lloyd forced himself to his feet, stumbled and caught himself on the bars.

Cole reached out, as though to help him, but Lloyd shook his head- stopped himself and sent him a look instead- before bracing himself and standing up properly. He wavered for a moment, vision briefly swimming, but he didn't fall again.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Zane kneeling next to Nya and the doctor- what was his name again? Did he even tell them his name?- talking quietly. The doctor seemed to be telling them something, Zane and Nya listening intently. Then, nodding and glancing over at the guards standing outside their cells, Zane helped Nya position Jay so that one arm was under his knees and the other was under his back, before the nindroid helped his sister to her feet, Jay in her arms.

With swords pointed at them, the Ninja were led from their cells, the doors clanging shut loudly. Lloyd made eye contact with Nelson and Skales Jr, who were huddled up against the bars watching. He tried to send them a reassuring look, but within moments they had turned the corner, and the two children were gone from his sight.

There were about twelve guards escorting them, and their combined footsteps echoing in the dark halls was like a live concert at full volume. Lloyd's head felt as though it were about to explode. Or maybe implode. Or maybe both at the same time, if that was even possible (he didn't think it was, but his brain felt like it would make it possible).

The tip of a sword pressed further into his spine, and he grunted, teeth clenching. He could almost sense the Black Rags grin.

Beside him was Nya and Jay. They were around the same size, and this must be making her carrying him a bit hard. but she seemed to be doing fine. He worried that the constant movement would make Jay worse, but he remained as nonresponsive as ever, that makeshift bandage hiding the gaping hole that had been his eye.

Twisting a little to look behind him, he found a shockingly pale Kai putting most of his weight on Cole. Of course, being the strongest out of a group of already pretty strong people, Cole hardly seemed to notice.

"Face forwards!" the Black Rag snapped, sword digging deeper into his back. Lloyd winced, shifting away from the point, and obediently faced forwards again. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Zane move to help Cole hold up Kai, but a Black Rag growled at him as though he were a dog and Zane was trying to take his bone away. The nindroid defensively held up his hands and reluctantly backed away from his two brothers, but not without a concerned look in Kai's direction.

Upon reaching a heavy metal door, one of the Black Rags broke off from the rest, pulling a large, rusted guy out from beneath his rags. With a bit of difficulty, the Black Rag forced the key into its hole and twisted. There was the heavy click of an opening lock, and with a small grunt, the Black Rag forced the door open with his shoulder.

The room beyond was dark, too dark to make out whatever was inside. Eyes widening, head spiking, Lloyd turned to look at his conscious siblings- Zane, Cole and Nya's faces were hesitant, suspicious, much like what was probably on his own face (although, at the back of his mind, he thought perhaps he looked more like a confused moron- concussions could do that).

The point of the Black Rags sword dug deeper into his back, forcing an unwilling grunt from his throat. Reluctantly, Lloyd followed Nya and Jay inside the room.

He lost his sight almost immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Zane beginning to glow, before there was the smack of a sword hilt on titanium and Zane grunted. His light died out, leaving them in darkness. The pounding in Lloyd's head dulled.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Cole. Somewhere to his right.

"Shut up, rock head."

Cole snorted, "Rock head? Seriously? That's the best insult you can come up with?"

Lloyd's lips twitched, but his half-smile fell, blood running cold when he heard a deafening slap! A hand to a cheek. Somewhere to his right.

The silence that followed was deafening. Lloyd abruptly found himself wishing for the lights to be turned back on; at least then he'd know where the Black Rags were.

"That," said Cole, after a long moment, "Was just rude."

"You'll get more than that if you don't shut up!"

Despite himself, Lloyd flinched. The yell made his head pound, a nervous sweat on his forehead. He licked his lips. Since when was he so nervous about these things? They should be able to take them on, even chained. It was dark, they could slip away and none of the Black Rags would even know they'd left.

Except... Jay was out cold. Kai could hardly stand. And while he hated to admit it, Lloyd's concussion made him vulnerable. He wouldn't be able to last long in a fight.

So that left three of them out, and yet three of them in. If they could just get out of these blasted handcuffs, then Cole, Nya and Zane would be able to knock these guys out no problem.

But then what? This place was a maze. A labyrinth. They couldn't just head back to the conjoining cells and blindly lead all of the captured citizens throughout the endless halls. They'd get captured or, worse, they'd be lost forever. Starve to death, if none of the traps got them first.

"You don't touch him," Zane's voice startled him from his thoughts. He sounded angry, a rarity for the nindroid. But now that he thought about it, it had not been so much of a rarity these passed few days. "Touch any of them and you'll lose your hands."

"You're in no position to make threats, robot," the Black Rag spat. As though it were an insult. A swear word. It reminded Lloyd, vaguely, of a black person being called the 'n word.' He scowled at the thought.

"That's it," said a different Black Rag, this one further away from Lloyd, "I've had enough of 'em. Say nighty night, kiddies."

Lloyd barely had time to register his words before there was the hiss of gas. It took his bruised brain too long to register it, his hands too slow to clamp over his mouth and nose, and even though he was holding it breath it wasn't enough. It stank, made his eyes water, and he'd already inhaled some of it.

Then he was coughing, coughing up his lungs, spittle on his lips, and even though he couldn't see anything he felt as though his world was spinning. He hadn't realised he'd fallen until the back of his head hit the uneven ground (why was this place so uneven?).

His lungs burned. He gasped for breath without thinking, hands still clamped over his mouth and nose, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.

He inhaled the gas.

His world didn't go dark. Because it already was.

Echo wasn't awake, exactly. But he was aware.

His eyes were closed. For a moment, he thought he had been blindfolded, but there was no fabric on his face. He could hear each steady breath he took, each quite tick of his clockwork heart. He could feel the hands gripping him by the arms and legs, heard the sound of an opening car door.

Echo was placed on something soft, but hard, a little rough, like a carpet. There was the thud of the door closing. The roar of an engine. The car began to move.

Inside his brain of wires and gears, he panicked. He screamed, he cried, he banged his fists against the walls. But he wouldn't move. He remained still, limp, no matter how much he tried to at least lift a finger. It was as though the connection between his body and his brain had been broken.

This had never happened to him before. He hadn't even known the connection could be broken. He wondered if that meant it could even be fixed.

The thought scared him, over everything else. Even more so than coming face to face with the man with the mutilated fingers again.

His body almost shivered at the thought, the closest he'd come to moving. Echo took relief in that. Perhaps the connection between body and brain had simply been weakened, instead of broken.

He latched onto that. At the moment, it was the closest he had to a good thing.

Echo wasn't sure how long he laid there. He tried to go to sleep, because at least sleep meant he was away, sleep meant he didn't have to worry, sleep meant peace. But, alas, sleep never came, no matter how hard he tried to clear his brain. This surprised him a little. Surely, with the connection between mind and body so frayed, sleep would have been easy?

But perhaps sleep was dangerous. He hadn't considered that, not until now. If he fell asleep, the weak connection between body and brain could snap.

He wondered what would happen if it did. Would he be able to be repaired? Or would he just be trapped, forever, in an infinite darkness? Would he go insane? Can nindroids even go insane?

Probably. Although the robotic version of insanity is most likely different from the biological version of it. Robotic insanity is a malfunction in the system itself, whereas biological insanity is usually caused by some sort of trauma.

At least, that's what Echo though. He was far from an expert on insanity, especially the biological version. Why would he be? There were no books on it in the lighthouse. Only brief mentions of the robotic version in technological texts he struggled to understand at times.

Had he been able to, Echo would have sighed. He was so tired. He just...

He just wanted to go home.

Back to Zane coaxing him into sleeping in his bed instead of on the floor, eventually ending with him cuddled up against his brother's chest in either Zane's or his own. Back to Kai ruffling his hair and explaining this he didn't understand. Back to Cole sitting next to him on the couch with a bucket load of sugary sweets, telling him what each one was called and which ones were the best and which ones to try first. Back to Lloyd's kind smiles and friendly greetings. Back to Jay's jokes and loud laughs. Back to Nya grinning at him from across the table as she laughed at Jay's attempts at cooking. Back to Misako's cookies and Wu's reassuring guidance. Back to Gizmo, zipping around with his excited bleeps, nudging his leg and beating him at chess every afternoon.

Back to the family he had always longed for.

Echo's chest was uncomfortably tight. His throat squeezed.

And despite the fact that he couldn't move, couldn't even twitch a finger, couldn't even make a facial expression, he felt his eyes burn behind his lids. Then the trickle of water down his metallic cheeks, sliding sideways towards his ears.

Oh, how he longed for home. How he longed for sleep.

How he longed for nothing.

He hadn't realised the car had come to a stop until he heard the muffled sound of a closing door. It tore Echo from his thoughts almost viciously. There was a moment of silence, where he thought maybe they had simply taken a pit stop, a bathroom break or something, when the boot door opened and light shone through his closed eyelids.

He would have winced, had he been able to.

Hands grabbed him, and Echo tried to struggle, tried to fight back, but his body wouldn't listen. His brain whirred in a spiraling panic as he was lifted, thrown over a shoulder. There was talking, in a language he couldn't understand, then the person carrying him began to walk.

Desperate, he tried to move, but his limbs were as limp as noodles. He attempted, for what must have been the millionth time, to open his eyes, but they just wouldn't respond.

A door opened. The creak of rusted hinges. The rattle of chains. He was placed, almost gently so, on the ground. To his surprise, it wasn't uneven, but it wasn't exactly solid either. It was almost... grainy.

He felt hands, hands in his chest, and in his brain he screamed, but in his body he didn't even twitch. For a moment, he was back on that operating table, screaming his throat raw, as the man with the mangled hands and snake mask tore him apart piece by piece.

Then a switch was flipped and he regained control of his body so fast he became dizzy. His eyes snapped open, a gasp tearing from his throat, and his arms and legs flayed as though he were drowning.

Sitting up, breaths coming out in ragged gasps, he saw a woman dressed his rags vanishing through a door, before it closed behind her and she was gone.

He sat there for a long moment. Gasping, heart ticking, trembling. After taking a few deep breaths, he struggled to his feet, almost fell and realised with a start that the floor was sand.

That must mean they hadn't taken him back to the labyrinth. So where was he now? On a beach? He'd never been to a beach before- not a proper one, anyway. He knew from TV that most beaches were huge, so unlike the rocky one at the lighthouse.

Fascinated, he reached out and took a handful of sand. It trickled passed his fingers, back to the floor. The beach at the lighthouse didn't have sand, only rocks and the occasional shell. The closest thing to sand had been clumps of muck and gravel.

When there were only small grains left in the centre of his palm, Echo dropped his hand back to his side, taking a closer look around the room. It was, surprisingly, rather spacious. It looked more like a garage than a cell.

Especially since there was a large, bolted metal doors taking up almost the entire far wall.

He bit his lip, staring at it for a moment, before crossing his arms and shaking his head. His heart was ticking wildly, despite his attempts to calm down.

He'd been so close. So close to going home.

His eyes burned with tears, his bottom lip quivering. Sniffing, he whipped his eyes with the back of his hand, staring in amazement at the liquid it came away with. His sudden ability to cry was... astounding. He'd never been able to do it before. He wondered why he was able to do it now.

Sighing, he crossed his arms, almost hugging himself, palms cupping his elbows. He was just so tired. Maybe he could just lie down... only for a little bit...

Echo had got as far as crouching down when he heard a loud, deafening creak! His head snapped towards the large metal doors, heart ticking, as the creak was followed by a mechanical groan.

He got to his feet, backing away from the doors, as there was a loud thud that shook the whole room. Then, slowly, the doors began to open, and Echo was forced to squint in the blinding light.

His ears were assaulted immediately by a deafening chatter of a large crowd. Starting to tremble, he began to slowly make his way passed the doors, eyes widening and breath catching at the sight laid out before him.

In the tall stands all around him, people dressed in dark, filthy rags cheered loudly, howling, banging together pots and pans and weapons and sticks. All of their faces were covered, although a few had some features sticking out- mouth, chin, ears, hair, eyes. Some were small enough to be children.

Upon seeing him, the noise increased, and he winced. Then he felt his heart stop.

Directly in front of him, at the highest of the stands in some kind of platform, sat the man with mangled hands, face hidden behind his green and silver snake mask. To his left stood three women- White Women, except their rags were no longer white. One was black, like the others, but with a symbol. The other two were blue and green.

To his right stood another three. One was white, another red and the last one- a male, he realised- was a light blue. But this wasn't what had captured his attention. This wasn't what had made his heart stop.

Because, kneeling in front of them with their bodies wrapped in chains and their hoods pulled back, gaping at him with wide eyes, was the Ninja.

"Zane!" he screamed, but he wasn't sure he heard him over the yells of the Black Rags. He saw Zane scream something back, but didn't catch what he said.

Echo's joy was short lived. His wide smile fell from his face. Because he was looking at walls and spikes he had only heard of in stories, had only seen pictures and drawings of in story books.

He was standing in the arena of Ouroborus.

Okay, um, I'd like to say sorry for the last update not actually being an update, and I seriously appreciate your guys understanding! Also, thanks to the guest that the note was directed at. I appreciate that you're not going to request updates anymore, but please, feel free to make suggestions for fluff and stuff! Everyone else is allowed to.

Alright, so maybe you guys were expecting hugs and all that, but that was still technically a reunion, even though it wasn't actually a proper one. We'll get to that eventually, don't worry. Maybe chapter, hmmm... thirty? Thirty-one? One of them.

Next time on Empty Echoes: We find out just why Basilisk went after the Serpentine.

NOTE: A RUDE RACIAL TERM HAD BEEN USED IN THIS CHAPTER. IT HAS BEEN REPLACED AT THE REQUEST OF A READER.