"And… there!" Lloyd huffed as he let go of the massive stack of boxes onto the large truck, "That should be the last of them!"

From the reflection in the side mirror, the driver waved a thanks to Lloyd as the truck sputtered to life.. The armored vehicle made its way away from the docks, heading towards the heart of the city. It joined a convoy of its fellow trucks, making its way into the city.

"That should take care of the last of the shipments from Hiroshi's Labyrinth," Wu walked up from behind Lloyd, making his way to Lloyd's side, "The others should be at Borg Tower now. It appears my fears of attack were unfounded."

"A ninja is always prepared, even if it's unlikely. We should get going," Lloyd chuckled, "I'm sure they'll want our help at the tower.

Nodding in affirmation, Wu turned away and began making his way into the parking lot. Reaching into his pocket, Lloyd hit a button on a small keychain, causing a massive green car nearby to rev to life. It drove directly towards them, pulling up right alongside where Wu had walked to. The large windscreen popped open as various screens brightened to life.

The two climbed inside, Lloyd taking the front seat and Wu behind him. The large canopy closed over them as Lloyd took the wheel, steering the car towards the main road. Once he shifted it into drive, he pressed down on the pedal to accelerate the car into the city.

With Borg officially rebuilding his tower from Garmadon's takeover, he had offered to house the ninja's more dangerous artifacts -such as the Golden Armor and Realm Crystal- inside a new vault specifically designed to contain them. While at first the group had been hesitant, Jay's reminder that Nadakhan had broken in rather easily made them reconsider. So long as the public didn't know they were housed there, better they be in a place they could get to easily than one they would need to travel to.

It had taken the better half of a week to get everything shipped under intense guard to the new building, but with the last of the haul making its way to the Tower, all that now remained was to set everything in place. Master Wu, normally one to allow his team to do their work, had insisted that he come along. Since he had offically hit his older ages, his energy from his younger self still seemed present, a fact that the team both enjoyed and worried for their training going forward.

"It's fastest if you take the main expressway and then get off at fifteen," Wu offered, "That way we can avoid the more congested traffic. The main road was destroyed by the Colossus"

"I know how to drive around the city, Master Wu," Lloyd rolled his eyes, "And I know about that, I was literally driving down the road when it happened. You sound like Mom when she was first teaching me how to drive."

"It is the role of your Master to offer his wisdom when he can," Wu chuckled, "Growing up once more makes one test the value of their patience once again."

"Well don't worry," Lloyd smirked, "We'll be there in no time."

Lloyd made his way onto the expressway just as Wu had instructed, falling in line with the rest of the traffic. Around him, the still rebuilding city sprawled around him. Garmadon's behemoth had destroyed a good portion of the infrastructure of the city, resulting in extensive repairs. The worst of it remained downtown near the Tower itself, making traffic heavily backed up and navigation even worse.

It'd been months now since Lloyd had defeated his father again and had him sent to jail. There were many things that he wished had gone differently. The alliance, the plans, his own decisions, there were many things that he was forced to learn from. In particular, one person still remained in his mind, haunting him whenever he closed his eyes. His hands tightened slightly on the wheel as he looked to the building where he'd last seen her face, or rather where it used to be, staring back at him with those knowing and yet unwilling eyes…

But all was better now. That was what he told himself. It had to be better now. The city would rebuild, just as he would. His team was back together, the Sons of Garmadon were in jail, and the city was rebuilding stronger than ever before. It would all be better. They were moving forward and that was what was most important of all. He smiled to himself as he guided the car down off exit fourteen, earning a small sigh from Wu.

"Master, I'm going to cut through the underpass and go right to the tower. We'll make it there fine!" Lloyd grinned, "It's just an extra min-"

"Lloyd!" A small screen on the dashboard sprung to life, "Lloyd, this is Pixal. Come in Lloyd!"

Immediately, Lloyd reached out and hit the button to trigger the comms, "This is Lloyd, Pixal what's wrong?"

"Lloyd, thank goodness we reached you. A massive mechanoid has appeared in front of Borg Tower. Analysis indicates that it is-"

From outside the car, a massive screech filled the air. The sound was piercing, hollow, and a twisted mass of thousands of individual noises coming together to form a barely coherent noise. That, mixed with the mechanical screech that followed it, made Lloyd's eyes flash with recognition.

"Iron Doom!" Lloyd turned to Pixal on the screen, "Pixal, are the others there?!"

"All but Nya have arrived. I believe she is currently getting backup," Pixal's voice turned analytical, "Lloyd, how much time until you arrive?"

"I can be there in two minutes!" Lloyd hit another button on the car, causing its massive engine to flare fully to life, "Pix, redirect all traffic from the underpass to the tower! I have Master Wu here with me too. Tell the others to hold them off until I arrive!"

"Duly noted," Her voice turned sour, "Though I hope that the Tower is salvageable after it's done."

Lloyd didn't waste another second. The car roared as he slammed his foot down on the gas, sending the car speeding forward down the road. He weaved the vehicle as accurately as he could through the traffic, alerts popping up on the canopy to give him at least some reaction time. Automated bars came down to block traffic, giving them a perfect straight shot into town.

As the car drew closer to the Tower, Lloyd could hear its noises again. The last time he'd heard that was when the machine disappeared into the Vortex. Only Kai and Nya returned from it at first, wielding the Reversal Blade. Wu had emerged too, but much later and as an infant. All of that, however, precluded the twins defeating them at every turn, taking the Time Blades, and then nearly succeeding. The thought alone made his blood start to boil.

"Lloyd!" Wu shouted, but the onscreen prompt flared up more prominently. A massive portion of building was now falling towards the street, right in the oncoming path of the car. Without even thinking, Lloyd reached out and yanked a lever off to his right.

The canopy burst open, sending the two's seats flying into the air. The car drove forward into the rubble, crashing into it and flying off into the air only to careen into the ground again. Lloyd and Wu's seats ejected a large parachute, stabilizing them as they began to drift towards the ground.

"Lloyd," Wu, somehow having grabbed his staff at the last minute, pointed towards another building, "We can gain a vantage point from there!"

"Got it, Master!" Lloyd reached down and undid the seatbelt on the seat, standing up in the chair He leapt from it and focused, sparking a green swirl of wind under his feet. The wind rapidly spun into a large vortex, surrounding his body in a transparent light green sphere. The vortex carried him straight up into the air, uplifting him onto a nearby building. Wu landed beside him, a sparkle of gold fading as he landed.

The two shared a nod of affirmation as they both jumped off, performing Airjitzu again. The two landed on the lip of a window of a small skyscraper. In this fashion, the two soared up the multiple stories of the skyscraper. After nearly a minute of ascension, the two landed on top of the gravel-laced roof overlooking the city.

Immediately, Lloyd ran towards the other side of the building. Even as he panted from the exertion Airjitzu put on him, he scrambled towards the other edge. One he had, he looked out towards the towering and distinct shape of Borg Tower, and more importantly what was now in front of it.

The side of the Tower had a massive gash torn in it, jagged bits of glass and framework beams tracing the line that was carved into it. The building let out a large pillar of smoke from the tear, like blood leaking from a wound. Several cars and trucks, including the one they had just sent forth, were strewn about the area, all in various states of destruction. In the center of the large span of street in front of the building, however, was where what the two had heard from all those blocks away now stood.

The Iron Doom slithered forward, cracking the pavement underneath it from the sheer weight of its metallic form and the thousands of snakes slithering within it. It rested directly in front of Borg Tower, staring at the handiwork it had done to it. The machine's head graced nearly a quarter up the building itself, itself the height of a building. The monstrosity's large beady eye shone a red gaze onto its contents, looking into it to see what it had wrought from its attacks.

A large burst of orange light, however, drew Lloyd's attention down to the street. Standing on the steps of Borg Tower were Kai, Jay, Cole and Zane, all with their hoods drawn and weapons out. Kai's unsuccessful attempt to scratch the surface of the Iron Doom made the behemoth now tower over them, staring at them like a child ready to squash an ant

"Nya!" Kai put his hand up to his ear, letting Lloyd hear him through his own earpiece, "We need our mechs, NOW!"

"Green Ninja!" A distorted noise of thousands of voices all crying out at once emanated from the mechanical behemoth, "Is this the best your pathetic team can DO?!" The mech slowly drew a large sword from its back, the weapon the height the size of a small parking garage alone.

The massive copper sword swung forward, smashing right into the side of Borg Tower. Glass exploded, filling the ground with shadows as the shards rained down towards the ninja on the ground. The booming noise of sword cleaving through concrete and support was enough to bring many to their knees. Lloyd instead shot his eyes down to his team.

Lloyd had just enough time to see the glass heading right towards Kai and Jay. Immediately, he threw his arms out, leaping up into the air. Concentration flowed through him, and when he opened his eyes, a massive translucent green dragon had appeared underneath him. The creature let out a reverberating roar before swooping down straight towards the two. Wind shot through him as it went into a perfect dive, heading for the building as gravity carried it faster than its wings ever could.

"I got you!" Lloyd shouted, his dragon reaching out with its front legs to try and snag hold of the two. The glass, however, would be far faster than his dragon could carry him. His own voice was lost to the deafening roar of the wind around him.

Before he could even get to them, a bright flash shot up in front of him. He pulled back on his dragon's reins instinctually, narrowly missing the wall of ice that had formed over the steps of Borg Tower. The glass smashed harmlessly into it. The force of such a sudden stop made his beast cry out, and the strain to maintain it nearly made him loose focus. Lloyd leaned his dragon over towards the right, flattening his body to the saddle to peer down towards the ground.

"Go, Lloyd!" Zane's voice rang out of a comm in Lloyd's ear as Lloyd could faintly see him lower a gray shuriken from the air and thrust his fist out, causing the ice wall to shatter, "We'll follow behind you!"

Lloyd started to say more, but a loud thump from behind him made him turn. Master Wu now stood behind him, one hand on Lloyd's saddle, and the other with his staff held out behind him. His eyes, unlike the more calm and collected gaze he'd normally held, were now filled with a steely determination. How he'd gotten down from the top of the skyscraper, he didn't ask.

"I shall accompany you," Wu declared, "These two are my responsibility. I thought that they'd be lost in time forever… but it seems I must strike the decisive blow myself instead."

Lloyd's lips curled into a smile. He faced forward and raised the reins, "Then let's go, Master!" He snapped the reins hard, causing his Elemental Dragon to bellow out. The beast flapped its wings hard, sending the two forward towards the Iron Doom.

By now, the machine had already pulled its sword out of the tower now sporting a massive gash across its surface. Its singular eye flared red as its other hand reached back, drawing its other sword from its back. It brought the two in front of it, pointing the one in its right hand directly towards the dragon. Lloyd immediately barreled downwards to avoid the incredibly fast jab towards him.

"How is that thing so fast?!" Lloyd shouted, coming out of the barrel just in time to find they were now towards the waist of the machine. The other sword was coming down directly towards them already! To avoid getting cleaved in half, Lloyd twisted his body so he was now perpendicular to the ground. He flew right around the torso of the machine, his gi flapping hard around his face with the sheer speed. Yet to his shock, he could see the mech was already starting to spin around to attack again.

"Ion!" Lloyd patted his dragon, "Take out its arm!"

With a small snort, Ion opened its mouth, gathering a massive ball of green energy between its jaws. The Iron Doom's right arm was already swinging down, its massive sword slamming into the roof of a nearby building. It's sheer strength cleaved through floors effortlessly, ready to intercept him.

"Master!" Lloyd shouted, "Get ready! I'm going to get you on that thing!"

Wordlessly, Wu let go of the saddle, planting his staff onto Ion's back and readying himself. A loud crackling exploded as Ion let loose the energy ball it had gathered, sending it flying directly towards the massive arm of the mech. The energy struck its elbow, causing the mech to cry out in pain as snakes were either vaporized or burned by the strike. The action caused the arms to slow.

"Now!" Lloyd yanked Ion to fly straight upwards, sending it right up into the sky. The dragon immediately shot upwards, spinning itself around rapidly. The action allowed them to cut right through the air. Lloyd heard something behind him just as they cleared the shoulder of the massive mech. Lloyd continued to climb, climbing until the Ion was reaching the top of several skyscrappers.

Immediately, Lloyd looked down. Just as he thought, he could see Wu running straight up the arm of the Iron Doom and towards the cockpit. He looked around, expecting to see his team's elemental dragons or a mech flying after him. He pressed into his comm, but nothing came from it. He peered over the side of Ion's neck towards the ground so very far below.

A look further down showed Zane, Kai and Jay fighting off several Vermillion, which seemed to spawn endlessly from a large hatch in the bottom of the mech. The three were knocking warrior after warrior apart, but they would continue to endlessly reform. Nya was nowhere to be found, and instead bursts of fire, ice and lightning were what kept the three from being overwhelmed by the horde. He wasn't getting any backup.

Lloyd grunted as he looked down towards the Iron Doom. Already he could feel the strain of flying Ion with such intensity. He was easily out of practice with this, yet they didn't have any of their mechs nor any vehicles. The only way he was getting on that thing was using Ion. The wind rushed around him as his dragon flapped its wings, the sound mingling with the metallic grindings of Iron Doom on the street.

A sudden flash of warning in his head caused him to jerk Ion off to the right. A large gray cocoon had just launched from the chest of Iron Doom. The green ninja found himself suddenly with his head perpendicular to the street as the ball just barely grazed the chest of his dragon. Another flash in his head warned him another was coming, this time aimed directly at the saddle. He had just enough to throw Ion down towards the street, the beast letting out a roar as the projectile zoomed past the right side of Lloyd's head.

There wasn't time for thought as Lloyd was back to flying Ion with all his might. Each cocoon that launched would curve down to the street and break open, little red snakes slithering out and moving towards the downed suits of armor to reanimate them. Yet he had no time to even look down, sans for when he was diving down towards the ground. The machine simply kept firing them at him, with every so often a howl of clanking gears and thousands of unnaturally high pitched voices twisted together emanating from the machine's head.

Lloyd passed around the top of a skyscraper. Above him, another cocoon projectile fired off, arcing down somewhere into the city. For a moment, the thought flashed in his head that if they kept this up, they'd be endangering the other citizens. He had to get onto that machine now!

At this height, the two were out of range of the machine. Yet it meant he too was out of range of it. It gave him just enough time to breathe, enough time to think. And in that respect, it reminded him of what he could do. The idea in his head seemed impractical, but it was the only one he had.

"Alright, buddy!" Lloyd flattened his body down onto Ion's saddle, "We're going in for it now!"

Ion responded by reaching out with its feet, digging its talons into the top of the skyscraper and cracking the windows underneath. Lloyd steeled his gaze as the Iron Doom stared back. He panted a few times before he brought his hand down onto Ion's neck. The beast bellowed as it flared its wings out as far as they would go and gave a flap hard hard enough to crack even more windows under them. He'd have to remember to pay the owners of the building back later for this.

But the time for consideration was over as Ion shot right up into the air. A cold chill overtook Lloyd as his dragon shut its wings. For a brief moment, there was no weight on him. He could feel his body starting to lift up from his dragon's saddle. As that feeling of weightlessness passed, it was replaced with a moment of crushing force as Ion snapped it's body like a rubber band and shot straight down towards the Iron Doom.

The machine responded with another howl and another cocoon firing from its body. Ion kept its wings right against its body, using the pure force of gravity to bring it right towards the machine. The only motion that it used to dodge anything coming at it was a simple wriggle to nudge its right out of the way. The sight of the snake-like mech was coming towards him faster and faster. The sound of the air was deafening against his ears as they descended faster and faster.

Right then, Lloyd felt it again. That sense of something flying right towards him. In that moment, he let go of Ion. The dragon suddenly phased out of existence, leaving Lloyd now to feel the full force of wind against him. He drew his hood over his face at the last moment, before throwing his arms out to his sides. He took a deep breath, and then shouted.

"NINJAGO!" Around Lloyd, a massive vortex appeared under him and a large ball around him. The Airjitzu tornado shot him straight up into the sky, just barely managing to avoid the barrage. Yet just as he did so, suddenly the vortex enveloped him as he transitioned straight into Spinjitzu. Now without the updraft that Airjitzu provided, he was now falling with a piercing point of his tornado to guide his descent.

Even inside the tornado, Lloyd could see the massive sword of the machine raising up to cleave right into him. It swung in an arc directly towards where he was heading, spelling certain death for his descent. Yet just as the two were about to make collision, Lloyd shouted, "ION!"

Lloyd came out of his tornado just in time to feel Ion's saddle under him again. The dragon bellowed as it reached out with its feet, grabbing the sword and hitting it with the full weight of its body. The arm of the machine let out a sickening "CRRKHCUCK!" as the speed at which Lloyd had built up from the Spinjitzu was transferred directly into the machine, causing the arm to bend unnaturally downwards. Iron Doom let out a bellowing cry as likely hundreds of snakes had been torn in half by the machine bending in that fashion.

Once the sword stopped bending, Lloyd stood up on Ion's saddle and jumped down onto the massive cleaving blade of the Iron Doom. Once he landed, he collapsed down onto his knee, panting hard from the exertion and adrenaline that was now pumping straight through him. He turned back to his dragon, which was still holding onto the blade.

"Good… good job buddy…" Lloyd panted as he stood up, "I'm heading in now!"

Even if he was talking to something of his own creation, Ion slowly lowered its head and blinked for him before it disappeared again. Lloyd forced himself to catch his breath as he ran straight down the arm of the machine and right towards the main cockpit viewport.

From what Kai and Nya had described, Lloyd had expected the cockpit to be rather large. The two had recounted that they and Wu had fought Krux and Acronix inside of it, and in turn that Wu had pulled a time blade out of the massive vortex opener from the cockpit itself. Stepping inside of the machine, however, told him just how much the two had undersold the size of the thing. The cockpit was hardly visible from the ground, and yet inside Lloyd could maybe stack three of himself on his head and just barely touch the ceiling.

The entire cabin had an ethereal red glow, with the sunlight outside not even penetrating past the controls. The two large seats were completely empty, with neither of the twins in sight. As Lloyd hopped past the two seats and forward into the machine, each step he took gave a metallic echo through the large cabin. A sinister slithering purveyed the space around him, a noise that emanated from all around.

Lloyd opened his hands, summoning small green energy orbs around them should he need to fire them. In his haste, he didn't bring a sword. Not that he needed one, but now inside of the Iron Doom having one would have been a small comfort.

The ninja took a step forward. His foot pressed down on the metal padding below him, causing a loud creak to fill the room. His senses flared with danger, but it was already too late. The metal sunk down into the 'floor' as multiple large writhing Vermillion snakes shot up and wrapped around his leg. Lloyd had no time to react as his leg was dragged down into the floor, causing him to slam forward against the floor.

Immediately, Lloyd raised his hand and fired a blast of green energy down into the snakes. The pain he caused them was enough to make them let go, and he pulled his leg out of the opening. He rolled his body to the side so he was on his back, just in time to see an orange blur swing down towards him.

Lloyd's right hand pulsed with power as he brought it straight up towards the blade to intercept it. The two powers clashed together, causing a spark to form between them. The light between the two was almost blinding in the darkened cabin. As he held the blade at bay, Lloyd forced his eyes to colhease the image in front of him.

"Well, well, well!" Acronix grinned, "Bro thought we'd have to capture all of the ninja just to get to you, but it seems you're just as foolish as your Master!"

Lloyd formed another ball of energy in his other hand and swung it up towards Acronix. The black haired twin leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding having his face cleaved off by the blow. Lloyd hopped to his feet and leaned back on his left leg in a fighting stance.

"Acronix!" Lloyd hissed, "How did you get out of the Time Vortex?!"

"Funny thing about time Green Ninja!" Acronix smirked, "When you control it, getting lost in it is just a minor setback!"

Acronix thrust the orange blade in front of him, letting an arc of orange power fly towards Lloyd. The ninja slid to the right, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the ability. It took a moment for him to remember, but the second he did a feeling of confusion shot through him.

"How did you get the Reversal Blade?!" Lloyd quierred, "Wu threw it out of the vortex with Kai and Nya! It's in the boiling sea!"

"Correct!" Acronix ran his hand along the weapon, "It currently still is in the boiling sea! But once we landed in the future, now that we knew where it was, it was easy to force the Master of Fire and Water to get it for us!"

Another blast of energy arced out towards Lloyd. This time, Lloyd threw up a massive green shield around himself, taking the blast head on. The blast did not dissipate over his shield, and instead completely enveloped his body. Before Lloyd could even perceive what had happened, he was on the ground with his leg stuck in the hatch again.

"Have you already forgotten?" Lloyd had to thrust his head to the right to avoid having the blade driven into it as Acronix laughed, "Control time… control everything!"

"I think you need to focus on controlling your ego first!" Lloyd shoved his hands into the floor panels, sending a massive shotgun-like burst into them. The result was the entire section of floor being blasted up from the floor, sending both of them flying.

Lloyd landed on his feet, wobbling for a brief second to obtain his balance. Acronix, meanwhile, was thrown into the opposite wall, letting out a hard cry and then landing on the floor with a loud thud. He grumbled as he pulled himself upright.

"Are you waiting for something, brother?" Acronix panted, "Let's show our guest here the main event."

Lloyd twisted his head around, only to see his entire body enveloped in a red glare. The world around him froze, like pressing pause on a movie. As he remained frozen, Krux lifted him up into the air using the Pause Blade and let out a long hiss towards his brother.

"Next time," Krux huffed, "You're going to the be the one to take care of Wu!"

"This was your plan, Krux," Acrnoix rolled his eyes, "If you didn't want to take care of Wu, then you should have just told me."

"Wu wasn't even supposed to get onboard again!" Krux spat, "You were supposed to separate the ninja so we could capture just Lloyd."

"Whatever, we have him here now and that's what matters!" Acronix shot back, "Just strap him to the manipulator and let's get this over with."

Krux glared at his brother for a long moment but ultimately obliged him. Using the red blade, he hovered Lloyd over towards the center of the cockpit. Acronix reached over and pulled a lever on the control module, causing another section of the floor to open. Several snakes slithered out of the way as a massive crystal rose up from the floor, one that was imbedded with several massive wires that lead down into the ground. Once it clicked into place, Krux pressed Lloyd against it and unpaused him in time.

"I hope this hurts, Lloyd…" Krux snarled, "I hope it hurts as much as it did for us!"

Krux nodded to his brother, whom reached over and pressed a glowing button. Lloyd's senses had just returned to him when he felt his entire body light up. The crystal behind him started to hum, then began to shake, and then began to roar. Lloyd tried to push himself away from the crystal, yet Krux responded by pausing Lloyd's hands and feet with the blade.

The crystal let out a long bellow, right before Lloyd felt it. Immense pain. Pain that he'd felt before. His lips let out a strangled scream as green energy erupted from his hands. The energy shot backwards into the crystal, filling it with power. His eyes turned that brilliant shade of green, leaking out of them into the air in whisps. A cold feeling blossomed in his chest and began to arc outwards to fill his entire body, sapping him of warmth.

The Time Twins watched on as Lloyd felt something leaving him. Something important to him. Something that was deep inside him, being drained out like water from a river. His body locked up as he felt more and more of it being lost. The cold had started to turn into ice, and from ice into something even colder…

Lloyd felt something strike him in the small of his back. The icy grip on his body was released, sending him forward onto the floor. He flopped onto it, his entire body aching and feeling incredibly… weak. His eyes were no longer green, a sight he saw in the metallic floor's reflection.

Acronix made his way over to the front of Iron Doom, leaning out the viewport and replacing the Pause Blade into the main apparatus. With all four blades in it once more, the center disc began to quickly spin and crackle. As he got back in, he looked over to Lloyd with a smirk.

"Lloyd," The sound of a staff hitting the ground near his head was followed by him feeling an arm grip his shoulder and lift him up from the ground, "Lloyd, are you hurt?!"

Turning his head, Lloyd saw the telltale beard of Wu in front of him. Slowly, Lloyd tried to stand up, but he felt his entire body refusing to do it. He slumped back down to the floor, panting for a moment and raising his hand.

"Well there you are, Wu," Krux grinned, "I figured you in your old age would take even longer to deal with our warriors."

"What… what did you do to me?!" Lloyd raised his hands up in the air, focusing his strength into them. He intended to form a massive beam of energy, yet all he could create was a tennis-ball shaped disc. The effort alone caused him to gasp and fall back onto the ground.

"Oh come now, you can't be that stupid! Or, I guess you can with a Master like Wu!" Acronix laughed, "This entire machine is fueled by pure Temporal Elemental Energy. So tell me, what happens when we combine it with even more Elemental Energy?"

Krux shot a look to his brother of annoyance, one that Acronix simply sighed at and shrugged, "The point is, you're now powerless! And oh!" He pointed behind the two, "It looks like it's time for you two to leave."

Lloyd and Wu looked simultaneously behind them. Ten suits of armor filled with snakes were walking towards them, each of them branding some form of sword or spear. Lloyd forced his body to try and stand up again, yet he was unable to do so without Wu's support. As the two stood with each other, the warriors brandished their arms and pointed them towards the two.

At the same time, the entire machine lurched. Lloyd shot his head around to see Krux and Acronix at the cockpit, having input something into the console that looked foreign to him. Outside, Lloyd could see vertical blue streaks beginning to form. Worse, he saw the tops of the skyscrapers start to descend. The entire machine was begin lifted up into the air, and that could only mean one thing.

"Throw them out, warriors!" Krux shouted, "Let them fall to the ground in front of their friends and students!"

The two stepped aside as the jabs from the Vermillion forced the two to step back Wu knocked aside several of their weapons with a swipe of his staff, yet having to support Lloyd he could only do so much. As the large jagged blades started to close in, Wu took a few steps towards the viewport.

"W-We… can't let them…" Lloyd groaned out, "Master, the… crystal…"

Wu didn't respond. Instead, he looked over to the now massive glowing green crystal attached into the system, and then to Lloyd. But the two sights were quickly obscured by swords, and by now the two were right up against the viewport. The Twins simply looked on with smug expressions, Acronix putting his chin on his fist and Krux crossing his arms.

"Lloyd," Wu spoke quickly, "How much of your power do you have left?"

Lloyd looked down to his hands. He focused hard, bringing everything he could. He summoned all he had left, only to see he had only an orb perhaps half the size of his arm. And that took effort. He looked up to Wu desperately.

"That is perfect," Wu turned, "When I say, use it."

Without another moment's hesitation, Wu suddenly wrapped his staff around Lloyd and pulled Lloyd into his chest. He kicked off the viewpoint, throwing the two of them out of the machine. The Vermillion warriors rushed to the open window, hissing and throwing several of their swords towards the two of them.

Lloyd felt the full rush of wind against his body as the two fell. With the angle the two were falling, Lloyd was being held against Wu with the ground rushing up from behind him. As the two fell, they passed directly by the large Vortex Manipulator that was now rapidly spinning and churning with temporal energy…

"Now!" Wu struck out with his Staff, sending Lloyd flying directly towards the machine and away from Wu. Lloyd's tired eyes flashed with understanding as he reached up, pushing all the power he had left into his fists and sending it out in a singular laser directly out towards the Iron Doom's chest.

A large electrical explosion filled the air. The Iron Doom bellowed as its chest suddenly began to crackle and spark harder than normal, with the color red filling it as opposed to the mingling of the four blades together. The machine raised up towards the large portal in the air, its hands moving down to its sides as it suddenly convulsed. It let out another loud scream before something red suddenly shot out from it. The machine shot upwards into the large deep blue portal, its surface turning a deep green for a brief moment. In another instant, it was gone.

The red spark began to careen in the air, flying at random as the air pelted it. Just as it started to arc downwards, a massive white and golden blur intersected it. Lloyd fell through the air for a few more seconds before suddenly his body was enveloped in the same red as he had been before. Just as his perception of time began again, he was on the back of Master Wu's ornate dragon.

"Let's get to the others," Wu stated with a frown, "We need to discuss this."

Lloyd had no ability to do anything other than slump against the dragon. He groaned heavily as his vision started to falter, and the last thing he could focus on was the sparkling trailing gold of the dragon's wings as the beat seemed to lull him into the darkness' embrace.


"I have stabilized him," Zane's voice cut through the dark as Lloyd felt something against his chest, "His heart rate has increased. He will awaken shortly."

Slowly, Lloyd opened his eyes. As he did so, his surroundings came into painful focus. He was inside the cabin of the Destiny's Bounty, his cabin in particular. From the faint noise he began to pick up, he could tell they were in the air.

"Lloyd!" Nya's voice came from his right, "Thank goodness, we were worried you were…"

"Yeah!" Jay's voice came from his left, "You've been out for hours!"

Slowly, Lloyd turned and let his body adjust again. All of the Ninja were around him, Zane pressing some apparatus of his against his chest. As it retracted from him, it allowed Lloyd to slowly see Kai and Cole staring at him with a mixture of terror and relief.

"What… did they…?" Lloyd gently turned onto his side and pushed himself to sit up slightly.

"Yes," The ninja's presence was cut through by the sound of Wu's grim tone, "I'm… afraid, that they did indeed steal most of your elemental powers, Lloyd."

Lloyd looked down towards his hands, slowly summoning a green spark. As soon as it grew big enough to encompass his hand, it refused to go any further. The light sparked for a few moments before it stuttered out of existence.

"We have to get it back!" Lloyd pushed himself up fully, "Do we know where they went?"

"Hey, hey!" Kai's hand moved to push Lloyd back down, "Easy, you just went through a lot."

"But, the Time Twins… they, they traveled in time, didn't they?" Lloyd blinked.

"Zane," Wu turned, "Explain what you and Pixal determined."

Zane nodded his head, "Yes, Master Wu. From what Pixal and I have analyzed, it appears that the two have used Lloyd's green power to achieve dimensional transit. The high amount of energy left behind near the region of their jump suggests that some massive hole was ripped in space, not unlike the signatures from when the machined jumped in time."

"Dimensional… transit?" Lloyd rubbed his forehead, "Wait, you're saying they jumped in… universes?"

"That is what the readings suggest," Pixal's voice spoke up, "To confirm, we analyzed these readings to the signatures given off by the Realm Crystal when in use. While not entirely exact, the wavelength and energy density displacement patterns are similar. There is a connection between them. Given what was relayed to us from Wu's testimony, we can assume that the Time Twins have managed to use Lloyd's power to transport the Iron Doom."

"But how could they even jump universes?!" Kai questioned loudly, "And, what universe did they even manage to go to?!"

"Insufficient data to answer that, Kai," Pixal bowed her head, "There is one theory that we have at the moment, but it will require a demonstration to prove its effectiveness. Lloyd," Pixal looked to him, "Are you able to stand?"

Lloyd threw the blanket overtop him aside and turned, leaning forward and standing upright. He wobbled for a single moment, but then stepped forward with a confident stride. The slight amount of dizziness he felt inside his head he forced back as he nodded to Pixal.

"Please follow," Pixal turned, "We require a large area to sufficiently judge this situation."

She and Zane quickly shuffled their way out of the room, followed by Master Wu. Cole and Nya, however, stood back for a moment. As Lloyd took another step forward, Cole reached out and took hold of his left arm, with Nya doing the same to his right.

"You sure you're okay, kid?" Cole pursed his lips, "It took me awhile to feel strong enough to actually get moving again after the last time this happened."

"Yeah, don't push yourself Lloyd," Nya looked to the side, "If I'd gotten our mechs there faster we might have been able to stop them before this happened…" Her fists tightened.

"Hey, I'm fine guys!" Lloyd forced a smile onto his face, "Come on, let's see what Pixal has to do. I'm fine to walk on my own." In truth, having someone to lean against would have been welcomed, but with this situation weighing on him right now, he couldn't afford to show weakness.

The three made their way out of the door to the room and down the main hallway, stepping out a door onto the main deck The rush of wind hitting their faces as they did so told Lloyd they were already in the air. A thin layer of cloud flew by on either side of the Bounty, with the twin dragon heads on the front cutting through the white layer..

The Bounty was currently hovering above the city, Borg Tower in the immediate distance. Beneath them was a massive park, one that housed Zane's memorial. Beside that statue was one that Wu had had excavated from his father's tomb and restored, a proud visage of the First Spinjitzu Master standing firm in the heart of the city. The streets around the park, as well as the park itself was completely lifeless. Standing in the middle of the deck, Pixal held something in her hands. The second that Lloyd saw it, he gasped.

"The Realm Crystal!" Lloyd looked up to Zane, "Why isn't it being guarded inside of Borg's Tower?"

"Because this is critical to our hypothesis," Pixal extended her arm, "Lloyd, I want you to focus all your remaining power into the crystal."

"Huh? Why?" Lloyd asked as he took the weighty gem into his hands, "What's your theory?"

"If what we think is true," Zane was the one who spoke up now, "Then the Time Twins used your power and the collective hive mind of every Vermillion to open a hole into another universe. The fact we were able to read energy displacement signatures, however, means that the hole is not fully closed. Since we do not have a massive array of networked minds to use for this, the Realm Crystal may allow you to do the same. However," Zane looked Lloyd in the eyes, "For now, see if you can sense where the rest of your elemental energy is."

"Sense it?" Lloyd looked down into the shiny surface, "I'm, uh, not sure what you mean but… if you say so, Zane."

The others took a step back as Lloyd focused. The green energy that he could still summon crackled in his hands, then immediately was forced into the crystal's murky depths. As he continued to focus, the crystal began to glow a brilliant green, its surface glowing brightly as he held onto it. The light around the cyrstal continued to grow and grow, enveloping everything around him.

Then, nothing. Or rather, the light gave way into nothing. Lloyd felt nothing around him, even if he could see the crystal in his hands. The nothingness around him felt, vast. As though he'd just fallen into the ocean and seen into the depths. But he did not feel the weight of the water around him. The world around him had completely faded away.

He felt something. Lloyd physically turned his head, but he saw nothing. He couldn't see where the feeling was, but he felt it. In the nothingness, it was the only thing that actually felt like he was comforted by it. And with that feeling, he felt a pull towards it. It wasn't strong enough to move him, but enough that he could easily let himself go into it…

A sudden feeling of alarm shot through him. Lloyd physically gasped as he pulled his hands away from the Crystal. It fell to the deck of the Bounty, turning back to its regular blue color. The world around him reformed, turning into the worried look of his friends staring at him.

"Lloyd! Lloyd!" Kai's sharp tone snapped the remnant of that strange sensation away, "Lloyd, you still with us?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah I am…" Lloyd gently picked the Crystal up again, this time feeling like it'd tripled in weight, "I… yeah, you were right Zane. I felt… something. Something was pulling on me. Everything seemed to just, disappear and there was nothing, but it was like, the feeling was pulling me towards something inside it…"

"Then my hypothesis is correct," Pixal announced, "Lloyd, your power combined with the Realm Crystal allowed you temporary access into the Void between universes. The pull you felt was the energy inside the Iron Doom in another universe at this very moment. If this is to be fully correct, that Crystal should allow you to follow them."

"Wait, follow them?!" Jay yelped, "But, how does his power let him do… well, that!"

"My father created the Realm Crystal using his own energy," Wu walked forward with his staff knocking against the deck, "And Lloyd's green power derives from that same energy. My father created the Realms. If he was able to create worlds inside of one universe, then I see it as no stretch to believe that his power would allow him to travel to others as well."

"Likewise, elemental power is regenerative," Pixal looked to Zane, "And in order to do so, it requires a connection to a living host. Because the Twins did not fully remove Lloyd's power, the energy is still connected. This is analogous to how you defeated your father, Lloyd. Your power is still connected to the Iron Doom, and thus you are attracted to it in. According to Borg's Void theory, in the absence of everything, matter will be drawn to other matter. Assuming that your matter, in this case your energy, is currently in another universe, you will be drawn to it."

The deck went silent as the weight of what Pixal was saying dropped upon them. The Twins were in another universe at this moment, using Lloyd's power as a battery in order to sustain itself there. Lloyd could follow it, and all he needed was the Crystal.

"Well that's convenient and all," Cole scoffed, "But you're saying that Lloyd here is going to act as an express trip into an entire other universe?"

"Exactly," Zane affirmed, "Lloyd's remaining energy will allow us to follow the Iron Doom and reclaim his lost power."

Lloyd focused on the Crystal again. His power and this would give him the ability to jump entire universes? The thought alone was almost… overwhelming. Just those few brief seconds he'd spent in the void were unnerving, and now he was going to go into another place entirely?

"Lloyd," Pixal spoke up, "What do you know about the multiverse theory?"

"The… what theory?" Lloyd shook his head, "I didn't exactly go to the best school, Pixal."

"I'll explain it," Zane stepped in, "Lloyd, imagine a universe comprises everything. Every moment in time, every piece of matter, and every event that ever happened. Now, imagine that for some reason, those events were altered even in the slightest. Every time even a miniscule event is changed, it creates a new universe. This universe is separate from our own. Do you follow?"

"Yeah," Lloyd raised an eyebrow, "So, every little action can create a new universe?"

"Yes, but even the smallest change could dramatically alter the entire universe. For example," Zane turned, "Imagine a universe in which Garmadon never returned from the Dark Realm. The events that proceeded after that would never have happened. There would be no Overlord, no Golden Master, and the events on Chen's Island would proceed very differently. Changing one thing can alter the entire course of history. That, however, it simply a universe in which history is altered. Some universes may even have different fundamental physics than our own, others may as well be considered complete reinventions of our own."

"A complete reinvention?" Jay blinked, "Like, we don't exist?"

"That would still qualify as a historical revision," Zane shook his head, "Imagine a universe where Spinjitzu was not created, but instead was replaced with something else. Or imagine a world where the very matter of our universe is not what we perceive it to be. This is an Alternate Universe, of an AU for short. Any universe in which some constants remain across them qualify as an AU."

"Okay, so these AU's, how we will know what they'll be?" Lloyd looked down to the Crystal, "I, couldn't see anything. I could only, feel. Like I was being pulled on by a rope."

"That's the problem," Pixal announced, "We will have no idea until we arrive."

That brought silence to the deck. Some were trying to still put together what these AU's were and others knew that this was dangerous. Simply jumping in headfirst without even seeing the water was risky. They could be jumping right into a rocky shore, or into infested waters. It was dangerous without even considering the fact that Lloyd didn't have most of his power.

"So… when do we leave?" Kai smirked, "We should get moving right away."

The others turned to look at Kai. Kai simply shrugged his shoulders, "What, Lloyd here doesn't have his powers and I for one don't want to make him wait any longer than he has to. Let's get moving already!"

Wu looked out to the ninja on the deck. He can a hand through his beard for a moment, then he nodded, "Yes, Kai is correct. We do not know what the Time Twins want, but it is our responsibility to stop them. Every moment we waste is another moment they possibly grow even stronger. Lloyd," Wu looked him in the eyes, "Are you recovered enough to go?"

"Yes, Master!" Lloyd nodded his head briskly, "I am."

"Then go, my Ninja!" Wu turned, "The Twins are out there, and it was my hubris that brought this upon the world. I will accompany you. Pixal, I must ask you to remain behind. With the ninja gone, the city will need a protector."

"Understood," Pixal turned to Zane, "Zane, I, do not think that I will be able to maintain communication once you have departed. I would like to ensure your safety."

"There's nothing to worry about, Pixal," Zane reached out and took both of her hands, leaning in towards her, "I will keep myself safe for you and return."

Pixal smiled widely, pulling Zane in a bit closer. Nya smiled as well, only to see Jay snickering somewhat. A sharp jab to his ribs made him reconsider that as he straightened himself upright.

"What of the Time Blade that Lloyd knocked out of the machine?" Pixal voiced as the group made their way over to Lloyd, "It could be a valuable asset."

"I have hidden in it a place where it shall never be found again," Wu shook his head, "It is too dangerous to allow the Twins to get their hands on it once again. I do not know if they can use blades from another universe, but to allow them to travel in time as well as universes… it would make them nearly unstoppable."

"Alright, team…" Lloyd looked around to his friends that now circled him, "I don't know what Krux and Acronix are planned, but we beat them before and we'll do it again. They got the drop on us this time, but not again. Are you ready team?"

"Yeah!" The others shouted, each of them reaching out and putting a hand on the Crystal.

"NINJAGO!" The team shared a chant as Lloyd focused his energy into the Crystal again. Once more, the light enveloped him, sending the reality that he was apart of fading away.

Again, Lloyd was in the void. The nothingness was there, all around him, or rather not around him. He couldn't put into words how it felt. But he didn't have time to think about that. He focused again, and there it was. That pull. As though he was letting himself fall down into someone's arms, he allowed the pull to overtake him. Fear gripped him for a brief moment, but he resigned himself to it.

He felt himself falling, but likewise not. The pull was carrying him away. He forced himself to stay calm, to allow it to happen. As it started to drift, the pull became even stronger. Like a magnet being drawn to its source. He took in deep breaths as he felt himself accelerating, getting closer, and closer…

Lloyd… Lloyd! Lloyd! Lloyd's eyes shot open, though no light came to him. The voice cut through the ether, like being yelled to from underwater. Instantly, he forced himself away, relinquishing the hold the pull had on him. The second he did, he felt himself rapidly flying back towards where he had 'started' in the void.

"Lloyd!" Nya's shrill tone sounded in his ear as Lloyd found himself back on the deck again. The others were all crowded around him now, yelling as though he hadn't been able to hear them…

"Huh?" Lloyd looked around, "Gah, guys you can quiet down! I'm here! We were almost there!"

"Uh, you were almost there!" Cole shook his head, "Lloyd, you just started to flicker and then, you were gone!"

"What?" Lloyd turned, "You… you guys weren't in the Void with me?"

"No, we've been yelling for you to come back!" Nya frowned, "Why didn't you take us with you?"

"I… was, I thought I was…" Lloyd looked down into the Crystal, "Zane, why weren't you following?"

"This is a possibility Pixal and I believed could happen," He looked up, "Lloyd, it appears only those that possess the green power can travel dimensions."

"Huh? What?" Lloyd shook his head, "No, no that's gotta be a mistake. I should be able to take you guys with me!"

"If you were at full power, that might have been possible," Zane solemnly paused, "But since you have so little of your elemental energy left, it appears we cannot accompany you."

Lloyd felt his hands tremble. That feeling of the Void was crawling over him again. He… couldn't take his friends with him? But why? Was he really so weak he just couldn't do it? He looked around to their troubled faces, feeling his confidence shatter.

"Lloyd," Wu announced, "You must go after your power."

"But, Master!" Lloyd looked around to the other Ninja, "I can't do this without them! You saw what happened last time!"

"Yes, but we cannot afford to leave you without your powers," Wu's voice faltered for a second, "It… it pains me to say this, but you will have to undertake this mission on your own."

"Master…" Lloyd's hands shook even harder, "I don't even have all my powers. I don't think I can summon Ion. What am I supposed to do?"

Suddenly, Lloyd felt hands on his shoulders. He turned to see Kai and Cole leaning against him. Jay and Nya reached out and placed their hands on top of his own, steadying the shaking. Zane moving forward and put his hand on Lloyd's arm.

"Don't worry about us, Kid!" Kai's voice was filled with his usual bravado, "You've beaten everything that's gotten in your way, you can do this!"

"We'll be right here waiting for ya!" Cole followed up, "You got this."

"You'll be fine, Lloyd. You've already beaten so much, these nasty twins will go down in Round two!" Nya chipped in.

"Get them back for, well, taking you down!" Jay pumped his other fist, "You're the Green Ninja, if anyone can beat those guys, it's you!"

"You'll succeed, Lloyd," Zane smiled softly, "You have always been strong. You can beat them."

As they all stepped back, Lloyd could see it in their eyes. None of them wanted him to go alone, but he had to. There was nothing else he could do. Their praises, however, were enough to get his confidence back up. Enough to make him grip the Crystal with a harder grasp.

Turning, Lloyd looked to a crate on the deck and opened it. Form inside, he drew out two long golden katanas, sheathing them onto his back. Once he had, he held the Crystal tightly and gave a large smirk to bolster himself.

"Alright… alright guys, I'll get those Twins!" Lloyd declared, "I'll be back before you guys know it!"

The group let out another cheer. His confidence swelling, Lloyd took a deep breath. He looked down into the Crystal again, focusing his power. The last thing he saw before the light began to envelop him again was all of his friends smiles, urging him on to take back what was his.

Then, nothingness. The third time around, he was expecting it. And even more, he felt somewhat less scared about it. Without hesitation, he let himself fall backwards into the tug, carrying off into the void.

Just as before, he felt himself accelerating slowly. The confidence he had inside him burned against the lack of any other feeling as he drifted. It was like floating on the surface of a lake, being carried towards something. Opening or closing his eyes made no difference; there wasn't anything that he could see either way.

The tug grew in intensity. Lloyd's breath picked up as he felt himself getting even faster. The feeling of nothing became a feeling of hurtling towards something. Slowly, trickles of light were beginning to form in his vision, starting as small splotches and then growing into large bands. The bands started to colhease and speed by as he went further and further into the darkness.

Lloyd felt the need to brace himself. The light finally joined together into one blur, until once more the light blinded his vision. Slowly, he felt something against his feet, then he felt the air around his body.

He opened his eyes. Around him was… a city. A, rather large city. A city that was made out of, blocks. Or, not blocks, but something like it. He could see, something everywhere. Like… little circular pegs?

He turned around. Behind him was a massive statue. A statue of a man carved out of rock, holding up in his hand a large series of the same blocks that formed everything. From the positioning of the figure, they seemed to be forming something in their hand. The arc of the pieces going from his foot to his hand almost made it appear as though he was, building them?

A massive explosion made Lloyd jerk his head back around. Off in the distance, he could see it. The Iron Doom, towering over the city. It looked almost… out of place, against everything. But he didn't have time to think about that! From the distance, he could tell he had landed perhaps a mile or so away.

"Alright, Krux, Acronix!" Lloyd shouted, drawing his hood over his face, "Here I c-"

Lloyd's declaration was cut off as the foot of a massive mechanical shark suddenly pressed into the street right overtop of where he stood, causing the pavement to fracture as it let out a massive bellow towards the Iron Doom. From atop the shark, a single battle cry could be heard:

"WHAT'S MY NAME?!"


Author's Note:

Greetings, I would like to welcome you all to my flagship fanfiction! This has been a passion project of mine, and I hope that you all are enjoying it! If you like this fic, please visit my tumblr you can find on my profile. Here you can find information on all my fics, as well as updates on what's going on with them and the chance to ask me any questions that you would like! Thanks for reading and NINJA-GO!