Triple the Ninja, Triple the Fun
In Which Lloyd was Not High
No one was quite sure what to make of Lloyd when he vanished for several hours and then showed up on Meowthra's back with a bewildered, but happy look on his face.
"He's not high again, is he?" asked Jay curiously as their friend seemed only able to continue sitting atop his giant cat and stare off into the distance.
"Hmm, I do not believe so," said Zane thoughtfully. "From what I saw before, he's more of a giggly high. This is far too calm for that."
"You don't think he got kidnapped again, do you?" asked Nya.
"With Meowthra around?" asked Cole dryly. "Not a chance."
Lloyd finally seemed to notice them and slid down off Meowthra's back. "Guys, you're never going to believe this!" he said as he hurried over to them.
Kai scoffed a bit hearing that. "Bro, since we met you, we've become ninja, found out we all have super powers and are part of some great prophecy, fought your giant monster pet, and wore cat ears on live television. I'm pretty sure nothing you say can surprise us anymore. So, hit me."
Lloyd didn't look convinced, but continued anyway. "Meowthra can travel to different dimensions, and I just had a picnic with two different versions of myself, two different versions of all of you, and two different versions of my father who were both good!"
There was a long beat of silence…
Finally, Kai managed to say, "I stand corrected."
Jay turned to Zane and asked, "You're sure he's not high again?"
Zane actually narrowed his eyes at Lloyd like he was considering it.
Lloyd groaned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'm not high. Look!"
There, on his phone screen, was a massive group selfie consisting of Lloyd, another identical Lloyd, a small child that also looked like Lloyd, and double versions of just about all of them sitting around a picnic, the selfie taken by one of the Zanes extending his arm to fit them all.
There was another long beat of silence as it sank in this was really happening.
Finally, Cole voiced what they were all thinking.
"Cool."
Meet and Greet
Finding out there were other versions of them was beyond mind boggling.
But the thoughts of 'FSM, IS THIS REAL?!' quickly faded and were replaced by curiosity, and it didn't take long for the rest of the Ninja to begin begging Lloyd to take them with him next time he went to visit.
Which is how the next weekend, Lloyd found himself arranging all of his friends onto Meowthra's back (maybe he should get a saddle or something up here) and hoping his sweet, adorable, new kitty could repeat the trick she'd done last time.
Fortunately, they wouldn't be dropping in on the counterparts unannounced like the previous time. They'd all been curious too, and invited them to meet up in Luh-Loyd's world (it had been Lil'Loyd's world he'd gone to last time).
Once they were all situated, Lloyd patted Meowthra's head and said, "Ready to go? I bet you can get us there in no time. Can't you, good girl."
He heard Jay mutter something about his sanity behind his back, but chose to ignore him.
Meowthra purred under his pets, before breaking into a run that had Lloyd whooping in joy, and his friends yelping behind him as they struggled to hang on.
Like before, the air shimmered into a portal around them as Meowthra rushed forward, and when she stepped out…
They arrived in Ninjago City, looking the same as it always did. It was kind of disappointing. You would think going to a different world would look more interesting.
"Uh, bro," Nya said. "You sure this isn't just some prank you're pulling on us?"
"Yeah, everything looks exactly the same!" added Jay, pointing out various landmarks around them. "There's Ninjago Tower, our school, the stock market, a dragon- WAIT, A DRAGON!"
At that moment, sure enough, a four-headed dragon pulling a carriage flew past them, then circled back so they could see some familiar looking faces peer out the windows.
The alternate Cole riding in the carriage (Cliff Cole, if La-Loyd remembered correctly), leaned out the window and tossed a walkie-talkie to them, which his Kai fumbled to catch.
The walkie-talkie cracked to life in his hand, and they heard Cliff say over it, "Hey, the meetup is out in the desert. Follow us, our Kai and Zane know where to go."
Kai (who seemed to be trying to push down an existential crisis over the fact there were now two of him) pressed the talk button and said in an unsure tone. "Uh, okay, but why?"
"Yeah, why not meet up at the volcano," La-Loyd added even as Meowthra began following after the dragon as it flew out of the city.
There was a beat, then the other Kai (Spike Kai, right?) apparently snatched the walkie-talkie and said, "Because in our world, Pythor sucks and tried to throw our Lloyd down a volcano."
"And as a result our Lloyd is rather volcanophobic," added (Zen?) Zane to Spike's statement.
"Pythor sucks in this dimension too." they heard Lil'Loyd grumble in the background.
"I believe he sucks in any dimension," La-Loyd's Zane said bluntly, knowing his attempt at kidnapping recently.
"I don't doubt that," said Red Nya.
For some reason (Nick?) Jay made an indiscernible growling noise about that like he wanted to rip the snake limb from limb.
Somehow, they spent the rest of the journey roasting Pythor, all freaking-out about the dimensional weirdness forgotten. It was honestly one of the more enjoyable trips Lloyd had had.
The view when they arrived was nothing short of breathtaking.
"They use this as a training ground?" asked La-Loyd's Nya in shock as she took in the sand glass structures, glacier and crystal clear lake.
"Yep," said Spike walking over to them after exiting the carriage. "Made this place out of their own powers. With some additions from yours truly," he said proudly, pointing towards some crystalline caves set into the glass cliffs.
"Myself as well," added Zen, pointing at the icebergs in the lake.
The six local Ninja were all already there, and happy to see them arrive.
La-Loyd's friends were all rather bewildered as the mass round of introductions went by, and it was clear there were likely going to be some slip ups before they got who's who straight, though they were all in stitches when they heard the nickname he'd gotten.
"Lala?" his Kai managed to ask between howels. "H-How'd you get stuck with that for a nickname?"
"His dad." "Dad." "Uncle Garm," said all three of the Lloyds at once in the same resigned tone. Between Lala, Luh-Loyd, and Lil'Loyd, none of them had gotten the most dignified nicknames from him, though Lala was arguably the worst (in his opinion).
"Sooo, what nicknames should we give them?" Freckles Jay asked once that was settled. "We don't exactly know them enough to know, ya know, what's different."
La-Loyd's Nya got that grin on her face that told him they were in for another of her famous (or infamous) ideas. "No worries," she said cheerfully. "I've already got that covered."
She then pointed to each of them and said, "Coon (Cole), Mau (Zane), Havana (Jay), Toyger (Kai)," she said, before pointing at herself with a grin. "And Bengal."
The collective Ninja looked at her in confusion, wondering what the story behind those odd names was.
Finally, Pep Zane asked, "Is there a reason you wish to all be nicknamed after cats?"
"SOLIDARITY!" Bengal Nya crowed at the top of her lungs.
That's when it clicked for the rest of Bengal Nya's teammates, and most of them groaned. Well, except for Mau Zane, who looked delighted, and Coon Cole, who didn't care.
Lala let out a heavy sigh. "I am never getting away from being the 'Cat Ninja', am I?" he asked rhetorically.
"Nope!" replied Bengal cheerfully.
The other twelve Ninja looked at them like they were crazy.
No Lessons for You!
Another weekend, another visit.
This time it was just Lala and Toyger Kai who came to Luh-Loyd's dimension again. Lala because he couldn't resist checking out that world's volcano to find out how it was different than the one he grew up in. The fact that that world's Garmadon had turned it into a tech company after giving up evil blew his mind, and he just had to see it.
Toyger was just there to keep him out of trouble.
Which he told Lala to his face.
Rude.
It did not help that the other two Kais were there waiting for the ferry to the volcano, and were both nodding in approval and agreement. Luh-Loyd, who was also there, gave him a look of pure sympathy that only someone who had endured the same could provide.
Speaking of, why were they there anyway? Luh-Loyd made sense (it was his dad's volcano), but both Spike and Buddy seemed to share Toyger's fear of water. Why subject themselves to a boat ride to the volcano? Why go to the volcano at all?
"Special lessons," Buddy Kai replied when asked that question.
"Surprisingly useful ones," added Spike Kai begrudgingly.
Both Lala and Toyger looked at them in bewilderment. "What?"
As it turned out, they were serious, and the moment they arrived at the volcano they headed for a classroom filled with generals. However, when Lala and Toyger tried to follow them (mostly out of curiosity), Lord Garmadon put up a hand to stop them.
"No, No, No, No, Nooope! I said it when I took in this one," Garmadon said, jerking a thumb with another hand at Spike Kai. "If any more of you spiky-haired hotheads showed up, you're not getting any lessons from me!"
Toyger looked like he didn't know whether to be insulted or not.
"You were serious about that?" asked Buddy in bewilderment.
"I'm always serious," said Lord Garmadon, so full of bravado that none of them believed him.
"Can we just watch at least?" asked Lala. "We're just curious."
Lord Garmadon's gaze softened slightly at the sight of the boy pretty much identical to his son, but stood firm. "Nope, no can do. If you watch you might learn something, and I'm a man of my word." He then glanced to the side and muttered, "Plus, Wu bet me I'd cave to anything a Luh-Loyd asks me."
The teenagers all gave him deadpan looks hearing that.
Now it all makes sense. Of course he's just doing this to stick it to Wu.
Seeming to think he'd won the conversation, Garmadon yanked Buddy and Spike into the classroom, told Toyger to beat it, gave Luh-Loyd and Lala a cheerful goodbye, and then slammed the door in their faces.
"Well that just happened," said Toyger Kai with a huff. Now he actually kind of wanted to take the lesson. He didn't even know what kind of lesson it was, but now the curiosity was eating at him.
Luh-Loyd gave the other two an apologetic shrug. "Sorry about that, Dad's just... Dad."
Lala nodded in agreement, understanding completely.
Luh-Loyd then looked thoughtful. "You know, if you really want the lessons, your own Garmadon could give them to you, couldn't he? You did say he was a lot like Dad, only still evil."
Lala had to agree with that. "That's true, and if Kai asked for any lessons from him Dad would probably commend him for being a good minion."
Toyger laughed at that. "Yeah, that could happen." He then looked at Luh-Loyd, his expression curious. "What kind of lessons are they anyway?"
Luh-Loyd looked rather sheepish. "They're, uh, they're bodyguarding lessons," he admitted slowly. "You know, for Lil'Loyd and me…"
"What!" exclaimed Lala, looking flustered.
"Ah, that makes sense," said Toyger with a nod. He definitely wanted those lessons.
Luh-Loyd continued to look embarrassed. "It's not just for me!" he added quickly, like this should be an important detail that should not be overlooked. "The training's come in handy for a lot of other things, like taking down bad guys, doing first aid, and they've been helping Spike be more observant and Buddy gain more confidence, so… they're a good thing."
Now Toyger really wanted those lessons, while Lala stared off into space and shuddered at the thought of having more people tracking his every move. His fanclub and his father's generals were bad enough.
Hoping to distract Lala from staring off into the void, Luh-Loyd then offered to show them around the volcano so they could take stock of the differences, and Lala absolutely spoiled the local sharks.
Toyger asked Lala's Garmadon for bodyguard lessons the second they got back.
For that, Garmadon declared him minion of the year. There was an award ceremony and everything.
Toyger's parents were so proud.
Morro is Not Paid Enough to Deal With This
Morro let himself into the mech warehouse while messing with his phone.
"Hey Shrimp," he called absentmindedly as he entered, eyes still glued to his phone. "Wu said there was something I needed to see here. Said it was going to blow my mind, but I'm sure he… was… exaggerating…" Morro trailed off as he lifted his head and took in the sight before him.
No less than eighteen ninja stared back at him, looking like they were in the middle of a massive video game tournament, and the three who all looked like Lloyd appeared to be winning.
Morro immediately turned on his heel and marched right back out of the warehouse saying, "Nope, nope, nope, not going to deal with this. Two versions are enough of a headache to watch out for. Three is definitely a crowd."
The collective ninja stared after him as he left.
"Uh, who was that?" asked Nick Jay.
"My cousin," answered Luh-Loyd simply.
"Master Wu's adopted son," DJ Cole added.
There was a beat of silence, and then the whole warehouse erupted into chaos.
Outside, Morro just walked away faster.
Meanwhile, in the rafters of the warehouse, Master Wu took a long sip of his tea and sat back to enjoy the show.
Of Kidnappings and Fangirls
Somehow, while sitting in a park in Lala's world, the Lloyds started comparing kidnappings, and how frequent they were.
So far, Lala was winning, if only because his kidnappings were not villain exclusive.
"Wait, so even Cole has kidnapped you?" asked Luh-Loyd in disbelief.
Lala scratched the back of his head. "Uh, well, kinda?" he said, though it sounded more like a question. "I was having a bad day at school, and he shoved me into one of the locker chutes to get me out of there and didn't ask permission first, so… technically that's kidnapping."
Beside them, Lil'Loyd frowned. "So does that mean when the Ninja took me home with them after Pythor first threw me under the bus was a kidnapping too? I did not want to be grounded for a century, or whatever everyone but Uncle Wu were planning."
Luh-Loyd huffed a laugh at that. "If we're going by that definition, yeah, it sure sounds like it," he said.
"Easy for you to say, Mr. Barely-Gets-Kidnapped," said Lala.
Luh-Loyd shrugged, only having two kidnappings to his name. "Pretty sure that's a good thing."
Next to him, Lil'Loyd snickered. "He balances it out with how he attracts monsters and dangerous animals. Sure, he can tame them, but it scares the heck out of everyone else."
Lala privately wondered if they should start a separate score chart to cover that as well… but he was a little worried he'd win that too. Then again, with the monsters he'd seen Luh-Loyd with…
Meanwhile, Luh-Loyd glanced at the tally sheet between them. He then frowned. "Wait, Lil'Loyd, we were both kidnapped by Pythor for Chen, why am I only listed for that?"
"Because you got kidnapped by Pythor for Chen, I was just there to rescue you," said Lil'Loyd proudly. "Which I did!"
Luh-Loyd laughed, but didn't argue.
"Who's Chen?" asked Lala.
Before the other two could even start on that can of worms, a high-pitched squeal interrupted them.
"Oh… my… FSM!"
They all turned to see a teenage girl in a green t-shirt staring at them with wide eyes from across the park. Even as they watched her, she lifted up a cell phone and began snapping pictures of the three of them
Recognizing the t-shirt, Lala paled. "Run!" he whispered to the other two before bolting.
Recognizing his tone as one not to be argued with, both Luh-Loyd and Lil'Loyd took off after him.
Though they wondered why Lala was so afraid of what looked like a regular high school girl. Heck, Luh-Loyd was pretty sure she was the counterpart of one of his classmates.
They got some idea of what when just as they were exiting the park an entire swarm of girls and some boys all wearing the same green t-shirt began flooding into it.
The sight of them had Lala running even faster, and the other two picking up the pace to keep up.
And that was how Luh-Loyd and Lil'Loyd had their first introduction to the Lloyd Protection Fanclub.
Coon Cole blinked in surprise when he saw he had a phone call from Karen.
Answering it, he was greeted with a very perceptive, "So you're dealing with alternate dimensions now?"
The Earth Ninja had to take a moment to wrap his head around the deduction the president of Lala Lloyd's very enthusiastic and overprotective fan club had come to.
Seeing no reason to deny it (she was too driven to be dissuaded), he finally responded with, "What gave it away?"
"This," replied Karen, and sent a photo of all three Lloyds sitting together in the park.
Cole hummed at the sight of it. Yeah, that was sure to cause a stir. "So what now?" he asked. "Obviously, the truth isn't something we should spread around."
"I managed get most of the club to debate on whether or not the other two are Lloyd's twin brother and little brother that Lady Irondragon got in the divorce that came out of the woodwork when she returned, or a pair of very look-alike cousins, or Garmadon's gotten into cloning. Trust me, they'll be arguing about it for weeks," said Karen dutifully. "I'll make sure the truth never gets speculated, or if it is it gets laughed off. "
"Nice," said Cole. "Thanks for the help."
"No problem. Keep me updated," said Karen.
Little did Cole know, the second she hung up she began drawing up all sorts of plans.
The Lloyd Protection Fanclub prided itself on protecting Lloyd from any danger they could manage.
Now, they just had a few more Lloyds to protect.
Beware the Hug
Despite all of them living on different worlds, they all kept each other up to date on their chaotic lives, and helped each other out when they could.
Which is why when they got word that one of the Lloyds (in their panic they hadn't taken the time to figure out which) was being possessed by an evil ghost version of Luh-Loyd's cousin, they all rushed to Lil'Loyd's Ninjago to save him.
When they caught sight of the possessed Lloyd, they still couldn't tell which one it was. He looked… wrong! Black hair instead of blond, sickly green skin, and sunken shadows around his eyes that did not look healthy. They had to get him out of this mess.
Needless to say, the angry ghost possessing him was far from happy to see so many Ninja standing against him.
It wasn't a long fight. Mostly because Luh-Loyd's Morro had insisted on coming along, and the mere sight of him glowering disapprovingly at him threw Evil Ghost Morro off just long enough for Buddy Kai to pounce on him, and wrap him in a Kai Hug™.
It was clear from the look on his face that Buddy's Hug was affecting him pretty strongly (being a ghost in the Cursed Realm probably didn't grant him much by way of affection), but he still struggled to get free and fight again.
Then, Toyger Kai pounced on him as well, and pinned Evil Morro in a vice grip hug alongside Buddy.
Evil Ghost Morro stilled as he became one of the few to feel the amplified power of an Ultimate Kai Hug™. One that could only be achieved through the hugging might of two Kais.
Still, it didn't last for long, and he still struggled to keep going, albeit weakly and with clear reluctance.
The rest of the Ninja all looked over at the last Kai. Spike Kai huffed, knowing what he had to do (and hating to have to do it to someone who hurt a Lloyd). Still he marched over there and joined the hug and its power reached its zenith.
The Ultimate, Ultimate Kai Hug™.
Evil Ghost Morro froze under the combined might, and the Lloyd he was possessing dropped to the ground under him as the ghost burst into tears and began apologizing for everything!
Such is the power of the ultimate, ultimate hug.
It cannot be stopped.
And they got a new Ninja out of it too.
A/N Happy April Fools! If the date this fic is posted isn't any indication, this fic is totally not canon to either my The Grass is Always Greener series nor Kay Hau's My Dad is Bad but Still Family story. It was a crossover we did together for the day, and it was really fun to consider how her version of the characters would interact with mine. This is a joint fic with Kay Hau, and the first section of hers should really be read first since it shows how Lala-Loyd met the other two versions of the Ninja Force. Kay Hau's half of the fic is called Ninjago Version 3.0. GO READ IT! IT'S GREAT AND SOME THINGS WON'T MAKE SENSE IF YOU DON'T.
Massive thanks to Kay Hau who came up with the crossover idea initially, and agreed it would make a great April Fools Day story. Her half of the story is awesome, and you should totally check out her other works.
Show Ninja: Spike Kai, Zen Zane, Cliff Cole, Nick Jay, Lil'Loyd, Red Nya
Movie Ninja: Buddy Kai, Pep Zane, DJ Cole, Freckles Jay, Luh-Loyd, Cyan Nya
My Dad is Bad but Still Family Ninja: Toyger Kai, Mau Zane, Coon Cole, Havana Jay, Lala, Bengal Nya