General Kozu growled as he led the group along through the palace. Lloyd had fallen behind Monty, who seemed the most eager to arrive at their destination. Harumi looked at the red Stone Warrior with distrust, while Lulloyd was more confused the more he spent looking at him. Mage was similarly looking at Kozu, yet his look was one of awe and shock as he tried to take in a man that looked like a walking detailed statue.
"How much further?" Monty demanded.
"Your impatience will not help us get there faster," General Kozu growled back at him, "The Emperor has commanded me to guide you. I will do as I am ordered."
"It... it feels weird being escorted by the guy that imprisoned me," Lulloyd pointed out. Kozu, while still walking forward, turned his head back to look Lulloyd right in the eye.
"The Emperor is the one that commands my actions," Kozu narrowed his gaze, "I hold no emotions for those that I meet on the battlefield. So long as my Emperor commands it, I will fight alongside even the most dangerous of foe."
"Uh... okay?" Lulloyd muttered as Kozu turned back around, "I didn't mean to be rude."
Kozu said nothing, instead leading them to a room with a large lock made of Dark Matter. Kozu reached two of his hands inside, moving the parts around until there was a large click. As that click sounded, the door began to open. Kozu pointed one of his arms inside.
The room was a massive treasure room filled with gold, with large displays and pedestals devoted to certain things. Lloyd recognized some of them as artifacts from his time, such as the Fangblades and a teapot that gave him a strange sense of deja vu. Kozu barked at them to keep moving deeper into the room. Soon, it turned into a large room of nothing but weapons, with blades and swords and guns and all manner of things. Kozu directed their attention specifically to a large box in the middle.
"Your weapons are there," Kozu informed them, "The strange beast that the one you called Lulloyd rode is in pieces in the next room. We collected all of them following the attack"
"I'll uh, just go take care of that then," Lulloyd waved his hand awkwardly, then quickly darted into the next room to go and rebuild his dragon.
The group quickly descended on the crate. Monty opened it first to find his gun bag, which filled him with enough emotion to make his frown slightly rise. He opened it up and quickly donned the simple dark red side cape, his feeling of nakedness evaporating as he did. He quickly loaded his armor down with the guns that had previously been there, before loading two shotguns on his back. In doing so, he tossed a box of ammo to Lloyd, who, after placing his two katanas on his back, placed it on his belt. Mage didn't need weapons, but instead Kozu finally pulled the vengestone cuffs off him, letting him gasp in relief as he was able to finally use his elements again. Lulloyd soon returned from the next room with his mechdragon brick back on his back before retrieving his curved sword as well.
"Harumi," Kozu spoke the girl's name, "I have something to give to you courtesy of the Emperor himself."
Harumi, confused, nervously made her way over to Kozu. He opened his palm to reveal none other than the black chip that Harumi had taken away from her. Instantly, she snatched it from him, holding it to her chest and slipping it back into the pocket inside of her uniform. Her eyes trailed up to Kozu with a mixture of shock and restrained gratitude.
"The Emperor says that Borg has determined that it has a purpose," Kozu told her, "When you see the Emperor, he will tell you what the device does."
"Device?" Harumi asked, putting her hand over where it lay inside of her suit, "I... I'll, ask him when I get the chance."
"Do so," Kozu bowed his head, "We have no time to waste here. Get what you need, then we must hurry."
"Wait a minute," Lloyd looked up, "Sun. Where is Sun? We didn't see him."
"I was sent to collect him after the Twins went with the Emperor," Kozu bowed his head, "But... he was not there. The Emperor left him unconscious in front of your cell. Yet when I checked, he was gone."
"Gone?" Lloyd's eyes widened, "Wait, but it sounds like the Vermillion did something to him! Are you sure?!"
"He is likely searching for his parents, which he will not find," Kozu growled, "He has likely said that the one named Wu and Misako are here. That is a lie. The Emperor keeps them in a remote part of Ninjago. If he has gone looking for them, he will be of no help to us."
"We can't worry about him right now," Harumi stepped forward, clutching her uniform, "We found the Twins. The E-... we agreed to help the Emperor. We have to go and stop them first."
"Here," Monty reached his hand up, showing the shards of the Realm Crystal that Overlloyd had taken from them, "Take yours. I'll hang on to the extra ones"
Each of them quickly took one, putting them back into the secure places on their clothes. Monty slid the two extra shards he had into his armor. Once they had all recovered something lost to them, Kozu turned back towards the entrance. Lloyd looked down for a moment, thinking on what Kozu said, but ultimately raised his head and nodded to the group, then Kozu.
"We go now!" Kozu declared, "For the glory of the Emperor! We will fight these trespassers!"
"For the sake of Ninjago," Lloyd assured everyone. Each of them gave a small nod, "Lead the way, Kozu."
"Before we fight," Morro turned his necklace into his twin chained knives, "Why exactly did you decide to come here in the first place?"
Krux drew the Slow-mo blade, while Acronix took hold of the Forward blade. Cryptor charged up his massive new arm cannon, while Morro grinned and spun the knives in hand. The Twins ordered the Vermillion behind them to remain there as they readied for battle.
"We are the Masters of Time," Acronix declared eagerly, "We were able to sense something odd about this palace from the moment we felt it. Now that your foolish Emperor has confirmed our hunch, it's time for us to give you a bit of payback."
"You're here on nothing more than a hunch?" Cryptor laughed evilly, "Then I suppose it is only fitting that you should fall before us like broken clockwork."
"Was that a time pun?" Acronix blinked, "...Brother, I need to write that one down!"
"Do not go giving him anymore puns!" Krux drew his blade back, "I can barely stand his sense of humor as is!"
Sensing that Krux was about to attack, Cryptor fired his cannon. The blast of purple laser that came out grew into a large pulse that struck the ground near where Krux stood, causing a massive part of the ground to char and sizzle with the impact. When Cryptor turned his head to look, however, Krux was running forward with his blade pointed towards the laser. Cryptor let out a 'tssk' before raising his other carm, causing a massive blade that looked to be made of purple energy extended out from his wrist.
"Begin data analysis on targeted weapon!" Cryptor declared. At once, his red eye zeroed in on the blue time blade that Krux held. Krux held his other hand out, causing one of the Vermillion waiting behind them to pull their red blade from their back and throw it out to him. Krux caught the sword just in time to send both sword and time blade into Cryptor's raised blade. The purple blade crackled and fizzled with energy as Krux pushed against it.
Morro, grinning at the chance, flung one of the knives he had towards Krux, hoping to activate his ability on him. Instead, Acronix appeared in front of the blade with a flash of green and knocked the knife aside. The knife went flying away in the opposite direction, causing Morro to swing the chain and arc the knife back around. Acronix closed in on him, readying another time blade charge. Morro, sensing this, let go of the hand holding the other knife and instead reached up and grabbed hold of his scarf. The chain that was swinging around he caught in one hand, while the other threw the scarf out and caused it to click as the internal components made it stiffen up. The scarf wrapped Acronix's time blade, causing Acronix to lose focus as it was yanked out of his hand and then retracted back for Morro to grab hold of.
"Sword!" Acronix shouted. Another Vermillion stepped forward to try to throw his sword at Acronix. Morro made a risky move of closing in on Acronix. The action paid off as Morro forced him to guard against the time blade. Morro flung his chained knives together like a bola. The chain wrapped around the Vermillion's torso and caused him to fall forward, sword as well. Morro then gathered up wind in his feet to blast up into the air, kicking Acronix in the face as he did. Acronix snarled as he got to his feet, right as Morro landed by the Vermillion to yank his chains back and blast back towards him as the others tried to retaliate.
"Get yourself together, brother!" Krux shouted as he and Cryptor traded blows.
"Yeah, yeah..." Acronix readied his fists, "I give this boy credit for removing my blade from me, but not for much else!"
Morro laughed as he tried to bring his knives down on top of Acronix's shoulders. Acronix, waiting until the last moment, instead bobbed out of the way and delivered a jab to Morro's chest. Morro stumbled backwards on his feet, giving Acronix time to rush in and wind up a fist to send right into Morro's jawline. Morro's head jerked to the side at the impact, yet when Acronix went to end it with an uppercut, Morro caught it on his forearm and just grinned at him.
"Nice moves," Morro grinned, "Bet you learned how to brawl from a master, didn't ya?"
"Nope," Acronix started to grin, "I learned on the battlefield."
"That's nice to know," Morro laughed, "But that can't compare to what you can learn from a true teacher!"
Morro suddenly turned his chains back into the necklace that he clipped back around his neck. Holding the time blade like brass knuckles, Morro rushed forward and swung at Acronix. Acronix, sensing Morro's technique, went on the defensive and struggled to take blows on his forearms. Morro rushed him over and over again, simply using his own experience to put Acronix on the backfoot.
"What's the matter?" Morro taunted, "You should know how to fight without your brother!"
Krux managed to strike his sword against Cryptor's armor, only to hear it bounce off. Cryptor let out a cackle and raised up that cannon arm, ready to blast Krux with it. Krux, at point blank range, thrust his slow blade up and struck the cannon arm with it. The internal components were slowed down just enough for him to grab the cannon with both arms and direct it up towards the ceiling. When the slowed effect wore off, the cannon fired up towards the ceiling and blasted a chunk of the rocks above them, raining down dust on them. In the moment, Krux thrust one of his elbows back to strike Cryptor's chin. The pain of hitting solid metal with an elbow caused Krux to shout in pain, much to Cryptor's mirth. He used his other hand to grab Krux's neck and throw him back.
While at first this action seemed to mean Krux was down, instead he turned to see Morro about to break Acronix's guard. Krux made eye contact with Acronix just before firing the slow blade to use up the last current charge, causing Morro's body to slow down mid-punch. Acronix, not one to waste his chance, slid around the strike and threw his hand out towards Morro. Krux canceled the effect and Acronix's hand swiped the forward blade right back from Morro in the process. In the momentary lapse in processing this caused Morro, Acronix turned the blade to the flat and struck Morro right in the lower back. Morro let out a grunt of pain and stumbled a step forward.
"Hrmm... what are you thinking, brother?" Acronix asked, moving to stand beside Krux.
"I'm thinking... we hit them with that new move I was talking about!" Acronix grinned madly.
"That one?" Krux looked down at the slow blade, "We need my blade recharge for that to happen."
"Then let's buy us some time for that!" Acronix laughed. All three other combatants shared a look of shared annoyance at the joke.
"Is he always like this?" Cryptor asked. In the corner of his screen, the phrase Data Analysis Complete pulled up, along with information on the state of the blue time blade. The readout that it gave him was more than enough to make the man under the armor a very happy one, "A battle shouldn't have time for puns."
"Indeed..." Krux smirked, "Brother, switch!"
Much to Cryptor's surprise, Acronix blinked forward in time to appear right in front of his face, while Krux ran right at Morro and weaved by the scarf that came at him. Cryptor reacted far slower than Morro did, causing him to take the strike of the time blade right to the face. This time, the impact actually did hurt Borg underneath, making him shake his head as he began to raise his cannon arm to blast Acronix.
Acronix did the same as his brother had, blasting his remaining charge right into the cannon. The shot fired nearly instantly as a result, soaring back to strike the wall near where the Vermillion stood. Acronix held the charge right on the cannon, using up the full energy he had left in it before he was forced to dodge Cryptor's wrist blade. Cryptor looked down at the green blade, his Data Acquisition already beginning to run on it.
"So that blade causes an acceleration of time on an object, I presume?" Cryptor raised the cannon up to point at Acronix, "I'm made of an alloy five times more durable than even platinum! If your goal is to make me rust, you're a rather foolish fighter!"
Cryptor went to charge up another blast to send at Acronix. The cannon, however, failed to respond. Acronix, laughing, held his hand out. With Morro occupied, another Vermillion took up the sword his comrade had dropped and threw it to Acronix. When Acronix caught it, he swung it down until it struck a gap in the armor between Cryptor's arm and cannon.
"You may not rust," Acronix grinned, "But I've found that electrical components can be easily susceptible to degradation, given enough use!"
Cryptor, angered by this change in events, hit a button with his hand to cause the cannon portion to slide down and off the arm, revealing it to just be an attachment that fitted over his hand. Instead, he extended a second wrist-blade of the same purple color from said hand, the time blade having thankfully only struck the cannon itself. With his anger now substantially higher, Cryptor shouted and swung them both at Acronix, who caught both of them on his own two weapons and gave Cryptor that same predatory grin he normally did.
Several feet away, Krux had managed to close in on Morro and swing his own sword down to try to hit Morro. Morro unfurled his scarf, ready to pull the same trick he had to disarm the other brother. Krux, unwilling to even entertain that idea again, pushed his time blade forward to guide Morro's actions. As Morro readied his scarf to steal the blade, Krux let the blade charge up before instead thrusting his sword forward. Morro's scarf wrapped around the sword instead. When Morro yanked it back, Krux held on and let the momentum carry him right into Morro. With the time blade, he backhanded Morro, causing him to let go of the scarf and fall to the ground. Krux readied to close in and strike again.
Morro, rolling on the ground, threw one knife at Krux to try to cut him. Krux dodged the attack and threw a kick out to hit Morro and make him roll again. Morro managed to get up to all four, taking another kick from Krux before he saw his chain was on the ground by Krux's leg. Thinking fast, Morro gave the chain a hard crack like a whip, unbalancing Krux and letting Morro shove him down.
Morro took the chance to get back up to his feet. In doing so, he was forced to dodge out of the way as Cryptor let loose a red laser from his eye that missed Acronix. Morro growled and reached out with wind, blasting Krux as he went to get up himself. Krux went onto his back, groaning out in pain. Morro, finally catching his break, finally was able to send a knife out and slice Krux's left side. Instantly, Krux felt his side go numb, causing him to wobble slightly as he got up to his feet. While not painful, his side felt as though he'd somehow put it to sleep.
"Now you're under the effects of my ability," Morro laughed, "Don't worry, it won't hurt. All I need to do is cut you in a little more special place and we can end this fight a bit more peacefully."
Krux growled, leveling his time blade at Morro. Acronix took another slice from Cryptor and was forced to dodge a jet-boosted kick. Both brothers began to slowly back up in each other's directions. Just as they were about to go fully back to back, both blades gave a pulse of light as their charges were fully restored. In that instant, both of them smirked.
"I hope whatever Emperor you serve is a forgiving one," Krux began.
"Because he's about to have his forward guard destroyed!" Acronix finished, "Your time is up!"
Cryptor and Morro both readied themselves for what was about to happen. Acronix held up the forward blade, then blasted both himself and Krux with all of the energy stored inside of it. The effect was that, for the two of them, their time was completely accelerated. As the two blinked out of existence, both Morro and Cryptor began to wait for their attack.
Just then, the two heard a loud swish of air behind them, followed by both of them feeling something tapping their bodies. In an instant, the two turned around to see what was there. In doing so, both of them heard the sound of swords slicing through the air. The swords came at them so fast that both of them had no time to react to it. Over and over the sword swipes came, so quick that it was near impossible for them to have any reaction time. When Morro's head was snapped over to see, he saw the Vermillion warriors standing firm, cheering on someone. Cheering in slow motion.
The Twins flashed by like lights, striking the two warriors they'd poured the full energy of the slow blade into. Morro's robes were ripped apart, his scarves torn open and the metal components inside going flying away in slowed time. Cryptor's armor was shredded bit by bit, revealing Borg's body underneath and his face when the eye was shattered and the hood fully cleaved open and off his head. Both of them were left utterly defenseless as the Twins shredded them both with their time.
Finally, Acronix and Krux appeared behind them in front of the large gate. As soon as they did, the effects wore off on all of them. Instantly, a now mostly-revealed Borg and beaten Morro fell to their knees and then collapsed onto the floor. The Vermillion fully cheered on their two masters, who both looked back with a wide grin and subdued smile.
"Now then!" Acronix smirked, "Shall we?"
"Of course," Krux waved the Vermillion forward, "Ensure they don't follow us."
The Vermillion soldiers marched forward, stepping around the two fallen warriors. The warrior that was a disguised Morro, however, began to twitch as he stood in between Morro and Borg. Against his will, green power was once more called upon to blast both of the two fallen men. Both of them were already knocked out, only giving one more grunt of pain. Krux nodded approvingly and, in response, two Vermillion tossed the failed guardians away from the gate.
"Now then," Krux sighed as he looked up at the gate, "We must figure out how to get this thing open."
"Oh, I'm sure we can find a way," Acronix raised up his recharging time blade with a smirk.
At the top of the dark palace, Overlloyd forced a hand up to grab the edge of the table in front of him. His body was still searing with pain, pain that refused to go away. The attack the Twins had forced on him had hit his very core, the very substance that his body was made out of. Just dragging himself up to cling to the table hurt him in a way that he refused to admit.
"This mess is your doing," The Overlord spoke up. Overlloyd growled.
"You didn't seem to notice it either," Overlloyd spat, "You're just as aware of everything as I am."
"I was willing to go along with your plan," The Overlord replied back, "And now look where it's gotten us."
Overlloyd dragged himself up a bit more, clinging even more to the table. He could see the dark matter puddle on the floor that he'd bound his weapon to. Binding his weapon to such a thing was an action he'd taken as early as he could. Having that matter infused into his body was an easy trick to pull with the combined powers that he and the Overlord shared. Unlike with what he'd done with Sun's wooden hilt, that object couldn't be destroyed. Thus, the only thing he had to worry about was having his staff taken from him, and that was something few were willing to risk with pure, concentrated corrupting Dark Matter at hand.
"They responded to you after you said the name," The Overlord mused, helping to pull their shared body up a bit more, "We know their objective."
"It's worthless," Overlloyd growled back, "That thing broke down years ago."
"Even so," The Overlord hissed out, "A weapon, even a broken one, can be reforged in the right hands."
"And that," Overlloyd set his jaw, "Is why I refuse to let them have it!"
With a large shout of effort, Overlloyd dragged himself to sit up on his knees. His body heaved as he did, forcing him to take a moment to pause. In doing so, he held one hand out towards the Dark Matter puddle. He focused hard, driving his determination onwards with the anger that he felt inside of him. The puddle slowly moved across the floor, willed to climb up his body and then wrap around his hand. With another burst of effort, the matter shaped into his massive double-bladed staff, which he planted into the floor and used to stand up with.
"My Emperor," General Kozu spoke up through the walls, "I have lost contact with the boy and the inventor. I have also received word from my scouts that the first gate has been opened."
"Then we must assume they are as dangerous as I thought," Overlloyd leaned heavily on his staff for support, "Delay them, Kozu... leave the group you are guiding and summon as many men as you can. They must not get past the second gate."
"Yes, my Emperor," Kozu responded respectfully, "Will you be joining the battle soon?"
"As soon as our body is able to fight," The Overlord snarled happily, "We will be there to lead the charge to their deaths."
Kozu turned and finished guiding the group down the stairwell to the fifth floor of the palace. Several floors up, the elevator had been forcibly deactivated to help stop the advance of the Twins. Unfortunately, this meant that the group was forced to hurry along after Kozu as he led them to a stairwell and down the building as quickly as he could get them to move. As Lloyd recalled, the Stone Army had limitless energy.
"Stop," Kozu declared, forcing them all to freeze, "My Emperor has summoned me. I must go ahead of you. My fellow Hands have fallen."
"Fellow Hands?" Lulloyd asked, "Wait, do you mean, Morro and Borg and those skeletons?"
"Yes," Kozu confirmed, "Kruncha and Nuckal are currently on mission elsewhere in the city. The others you mentioned have fallen. I must take another path so I may arrive ahead of them."
"Secret path?" Mage blinked, "Wait, if there's another way, why aren't we using that?"
"Do you remember how you entered the palace, Harumi?" Kozu asked. Seeing Harumi's suddenly sickened expression, he turned away from her, "I am able to travel through the walls of the palace with some of my men. We will get ahead of you and corner them at the second gate," Kozu turned back, "Follow these stairs to the bottom of the palace. There will be a passage opened by the Twins there. The tunnel will lead you after your prey."
Before the group could say anything, Kozu let out a cry and leapt into the wall. The Dark Matter acted like gel, letting him in and then shifting back to appear as it had before. The group, unable to follow him, turned back to the stairs they were already running down.
"Monty!" Lloyd turned, "Can you follow him?"
"I can't track someone inside of walls," Monty scoffed, "I'm stuck with you guys."
"Then we don't have anytime to lose," Harumi pointed to the stairs, "We need to go, now!"
"Here!" Mage's eyes began to glow white, "I might have an element just for that!"
"Wait a minute," Monty raised his hand to stop him, "We need to know something first. Overlloyd!"
There was a delay before Overlloyd's voice came from the walls, "What is it you want? You should be pursuing them without delay."
"What are the Twins after?" Lloyd asked, sensing what Monty was getting at. Monty just sighed.
"I cannot tell you that," Overlloyd responded back.
"Why?" Lulloyd asked, feeling awkward at talking to walls, "It would, maybe help us out if we knew what they were here for."
"That information is nothing that you must know," Overlloyd responded back harshly, "Go! Now! Do as Kozu ordered!"
"I agree we need to get moving," Harumi shook her head, "But..." She swallowed some of her fear, "We've been pursuing these Twins for months. We need to know what they're after!"
"Silence!" The Overlord shouted at them, loud enough to make Harumi have to cover her ears, "Your freedom is not dependent on what they are after! The only thing that you must worry about is stopping them! Do not forget that your lives are hanging on by MY thread!"
The loud noise and terror almost made Harumi panic. Lloyd, Mage and Lulloyd had to uncover their ears. Monty, the only one not affected, looked up at the ceiling with a hard gaze. Lloyd looked around to the rest of them, nodding nervously as he did. It was clear what they needed to do now.
"Mage," Lloyd turned to the boy. Mage, nodding solemnly, focused and called on the element of speed. The element enveloped the group and soon sent them rocketing off down the stairs, soaring as quickly as they could to their destination.
"There's another gate?!" Acronix admonished, "Now that's just annoying!"
The brothers stood in another, much smaller chamber. This gate was far more scaled to their height, yet showed no sign of how to open it. The gate was similar in design to the other one, yet had no lock on it or anything to show how it would open. The cave was getting deeper into the earth, yet seemed to be winding around on itself to go down in almost a spiral pattern into the earth. The Dark Matter of the palace had long since been left behind, leaving them purely in rocky underground.
"Annoying, but something we must deal with," Krux hissed, rubbing his side as feeling began to come back to it, "It seems that it is true that people in this world have abilities based on their weapons they use."
"Any ability they can throw at us is worthless when it comes to time!" Acronix held up his time blade, "Do you think this one opens in the same way the other did?"
Krux nodded his head, waving one of the Vermillion over. The Vermillion raised up the necklace that they'd confiscated from Morro after searching the two for some way to open it. The first gate had opened when the necklace was placed against it, as though some sort of sensor had been in place. The Vermillion moved up to the gate, making Acronix grin.
"This Emperor must be a really sentimental guy," Acronix mocked, "Giving the key to one of his most hidden secrets to one of his underlings! That's such a rookie move!"
"...Not sentimental enough," Krux growled as the necklace did nothing to the door, "It seems the Emperor has at least some sense about him."
"That," The deep voice of the Stone Army came from behind the Twins, "Is because there is not enough power in that necklace to respond to the gate."
The Twins, surrounded by their Vermillion escort, spun around to see General Kozu standing behind them, flanked by five Stone Warriors. Kozu held two large butterfly swords and had a drum summoned in his hands. The Twins looked at the drum in confusion, yet they did not dare to lower their guard. Kozu took a step forward, glaring darkly at the two Twins.
"If you thought using your trickery to seal the tunnel before the first gate was enough to stop us," Kozu growled, "Then you underestimate the power of the Stone Army."
"Let me guess," Krux narrowed his eyes, "You slipped through right after we set the tunnel to collapse?"
"The means by which we are here matters not," Kozu growled, "You have trespassed on the Emperor's sacred palace grounds and dared to injure him. As his right Hand, it is my duty to send you to the afterlife for your crimes."
"Really, now?" Acronix looked towards his men, "We have two indestructible armies here, so I think it's just a matter of the two of us against the one of you."
"I carry the strength of a hundred men," Kozu declared, "And you will fall to the march of my War Drum!"
"Vermillion!" Krux shouted, "Form up!" The Vermillion all obeyed, moving to form two solid lines of 5 in front of the Twins.
"HAU!" Kozu shouted, causing the five Warriors he had to do the same, "PAKARI!" The Warriors all held their weapons aloft, "VOILTAK!" The Warriors let out a battle cry and raced forward towards the Vermillion. Kozu, to aid his followers, began to rap his sticks against his drum.
The Stone Warriors blinked out of existence for the Vermillion and Time Twins. The action caused the Vermillion to look around in confusion right before another rap of the drum brought them back, now right in the Vermillion's faces. The Vermillion rapidly moved to defend themselves with their blades, which resulted in two of them being cleaved down where they stood. The snakes began to reform slowly, while another rap of the drum made the warriors holding back the attackers lose track of their opponent's movements, resulting in two more being cut down.
"What?!" Acronix shook his head, "Brother, are you seeing this too?!"
"I am!" Krux declared, "It looks like someone wishes to pit their own power against that of time!"
"None will stand against my War Drum!" Kozu shouted back, beating the drum again. The Vermillion on the front line fell as their attackers were forced to go in and out of reality. The second line stepped up and took them on, giving time for the first to slither under the feet of the Stone Warriors, dragging their armor out around the sides of the attacking line. As they clashed, the first line reformed behind the Stone Warriors, hissing as they moved to stab them from behind.
Instead, the indestructible army turned to see the Vermillion with their blades struck into their backs. Kozu let out another cry, causing the Stone Warriors to push the Vermillion as far back as they could. Using the drumbeat to give them time, the Warriors moved to form a circle between the two lines of Vermillion. Kozu shouted another order, making the Stone Warriors shout as they moved to brandish their weapons. The Warriors, moving in a circle, struck at the two lins back and forth, using each other to guard their backs and press against the two lines of snakes.
Acronix flashed forward with the forward blade, knocking into Kozu's arm and sending his rhythm off beat. The action caused the Stone Army, aided by the drumbeat that made the Vermillion continually lose track of them, to be forced between the Vermillion that began to strike back at them. Kozu tried to send out another beat, yet Acronix grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled it away. Kozu swung down with his large black swords at Acronix, making him leap away and looked Kozu up and down.
"It looks like your ability has something to do with your drum there, doesn't it?" Acronix laughed, "That's far too obvious of a trigger!"
"It is something you will not laugh at soon!" Kozu declared. He went to send another beat, yet his hands moved slower than he wished. He looked down to see them covered in a blue glow. Krux was standing on Kozu's other side, the time blade's effects poured onto him. It would take several seconds just to get a single sound off.
"Let's take this one down, brother!" Acronix grinned.
"Indeed," Krux affirmed.
Together, the two brothers launched into battle. With his two swords unaffected, Kozu roared out and engaged them. The two brothers traded off sides, each taking one of his swords as they used their time blades as weapons. Acronix blinked forward in and out of time to strike, while Krux dodged normally and blasted Kozu's hands continually to ensure the slow effect was still up. Kozu's strength meant taking his blows head on was dangerous, leading them to move fast and strike when they could.
Yet no matter what their time blades did, Kozu's armor seemed to be impenetrable. The Twins continued to strike, with Acronix going down to his last charge. The brothers nodded, then blasted Kozu with the last charge of the slow blade and both the Twins with the forward blade. Just as they had done with Borg and Morro, they slowed Kozu's ability to retaliate as they struck him over and over again with their weapons. When they finished, they landed on each side of Kozu, time blades held out behind them.
Kozu, however, had survived with seemingly no damage. The Twins turned around and saw Kozu bringing down his two swords at them, forcing them to jump away. They gave each other a look of annoyance, seeing that the rumors of the Stone Army being invincible were true. Kozu gave a long growl and held his drum sticks high in triumph.
"Your puny attacks cannot hurt me!" Kozu declared, "We will triumph this day!"
The Twins readied themselves. Kozu's drumbeat began to bring him blinking in and out of their vision, forcing them on the offensive. Kozu ran for each of them, putting his full strength towards them and forcing them both to dodge and run. They darted around the chamber, avoiding Kozu's attacks while the Stone Army continued to break apart and watch the Vermillion reform. While the Vermillion stayed up, the Stone Army took no damage from their strikes.
"You have failed!" Kozu shouted as he chased the Twins, "You will be dispatched, as all those who face the power of the Emperor were! Without your tricks, you're nothing more than a puny insect to be crushed by our might! Fall before the Stone Army!"
Kozu smashed a sword into the ground hard enough to crack it in front of Acronix. Krux leapt away and raised his time blade, looking around for something to use. He'd read about these things in the museum. These were the Stone Army, warriors created from Dark Matter and used to fight the First Spinjitzu Master, indestructible to all weapons turned against them. They were built to defeat one man, the only one who had been able to drive them back...
"Brother!" Krux grinned, "Line him up for me!"
Acrnoix gave his brother a puzzled look, only to see Krux's eyes dart to the gate. Acronix, unsure of what his brother planned but willing to go along with it, moved to draw Kozu's attention with a strike to Kozu's arm. Kozu, just as he wished, turned to face Acronix and growled at him, readying his drum.
Without looking to see what Krux was doing, Acronix complied and forced himself to engage Kozu. Each time that Kozu used his drum to make himself disappear, Acronix backed away and readied for a strike when Kozu reappeared. A lesser fighter would have fallen long ago, and it took all of his concentration not to actually lose track of him. He forced his eyes to follow Kozu, forced himself to keep Kozu in his head, and more importantly, to slowly guide the Stone Warrior along the path he needed.
Kozu, however, seemed to refuse to do that. Instead, he forced Acronix to dance to his rhythm of combat. When Acronix guided him, Kozu forced him back. When Acronix dodged, Kozu readied another blow. Acronix had long since given up on attacking back, knowing that until his blade recharged to give him space, it was worthless to attack. Their battle was framed by the Vermillion and Stone Warriors still slashing and carving into each other, neither side willing to fall in the honor of those they served.
Finally, Kozu managed to strike Acronix with a strike that sent him onto the ground. Acronix, looking around, crawled away until Kozu had a blade pointed at him. Acronix lay on the ground, growling at the Stone General that stood above him. Kozu snarled and looked down at him as he did, a victorious pose of their test of strength.
"You have lost," Kozu declared, "When I finish you, I will take your brother. If he can see you now, he should ready himself to meet the same fate.
"I don't think I need to," Kruxdeclared, "You're the one that's lost, General!"
Kozu turned to see Krux standing at the entrance to the chamber, holding a single Vermillion warrior in his hands. Both he and Kozu made a perfect line that ended at the gate across the room. Kozu turned to face Krux, giving Acronix just enough time to roll away before the Vermillion began to charge up green power in his hands.
Before Kozu could guard himself, a massive beam of green power was sent right into him. Kozu shouted as the force pushed him off his feet, sending him across the room and smashing right through both lines of Vermillion and his own men. Kozu shouted as his body was slammed right into the gate, the green power being burned into him. He let out another massive shout as the gate reacted to his presence touching it, opening it apart and sending him into the right side of the now opened gate.
The Vermillion, now down as they were, gave Krux the perfect chance to aim their captive Morro's green energy beams at the remaining Stone Warriors. Just as it worked on Kozu, the Stone Warriors were sent down onto their knees and drained of their strength. Once it was over, the Vermillion all reformed, hissing and shouting in victory.
"Ugh..." Acronix shook his head as he stood up, "How did you figure that one out, brother?"
"The legends said that they were made to combat the First Spinjitzu Master," Krux patted the limp shoulders of their captive Morro, "I figured the power would likely still work in this place"
"Did we lose any Vermillion?" Acronix turned, counting the Vermillion before sighing, "Good, we will need all of them if this is what we seek."
The two brothers had the Vermillion form up with them, along with their controlled Morro. They looked down the dark hallway that would lead them to the place they sought. Both brothers gave each other a nod as they looked to the tunnel, ready to claim what it was they sought. With a single command, they disappeared into the tunnel, the Vermillion following after them.
With one more massive push, Mage managed to blast away the rocks in front of him. The group had soared all the way down the palace stairs to the entrance to the tunnel, only to find it completely collapsed. It seemed that the Dark Matter of the palace didn't travel that far down into the ground under them. The tunnel, however, seemed fully collapsed and, with how tightly packed the dirt under the palace was, Mage had been forced to first dig out a large portion of it with earth before they were able to make enough space to guide it behind them. Monty's wind had helped and, combined with the blasting power of Lloyd and Harumi, they'd been able to make somewhat steady progress. It still, however, was a significant slow down, which only put the pressure on them to hurry to their destination even faster.
"How far ahead of us are they?!" Lloyd gasped out as they ran down the tunnel. Mage, too exhausted after using so much of his ability to get them through, had agreed to save his elements for when they arrived at the Twins.
For a few moments, Overlloyd did not respond to them. At first, Lloyd thought they were simply far too deep into the palace to be able to hear him. Instead, as they entered a chamber with a large gate hanging open, with the unconscious bodies of Morro and Borg against the wall nearby, the Dark Matter that pulsed in the high ceiling spoke out to them.
"They have managed to bypass the second gate," Overlloyd told them with a voice that had begun to have worry creep into it, "...If what I fear is true, then nothing stands between them and the secret that I guard."
"We need to hurry," Harumi gulped at them. Quickly, they all began to rush through the opened gate and deeper into the tunnel. As they ran, a shared throb of worry echoed through them. The Twins were determined, seemingly more than ever, to get to their goal. They'd managed to get past the Hands that they'd had issues with just stacking up to, even if they'd barely defeated them to get to this point. As they ran, a feeling of dread was looming over them.
"When we get there," Monty spoke up, "I'll lead off with some shots, then you guys back me up. Whatever they want, we need to stand between them and it."
"Harumi and I will draw the attention of those Vermillion they were with," Lloyd affirmed, having recognized the hissing when inside of that cell, "You and Mage can keep on him. Lulloyd, build your dragon into something to help stop them from using their time blades, they have to have them."
"Roger," Lulloyd told them, "Whatever it takes, we have to stop them."
"Whatever it takes," Harumi echoed.
The group, all those living out of breath, came into a second and smaller chamber. The Stone Army lay around them, groaning in pain as they did. General Kozu in particular lay against one of the opened two doors to the second gate, barely able to keep his eyes open. The group rushed past the fallen warriors to make their way up to Kozu, who blearily focused on them and raised a weak hand down the tunnel behind him.
"Go..." Kozu groaned out, "They are masters of trickery. I believe I know how they were able... to wound my Emperor..." Kozu summoned his rage enough to sit up more, "They have one that can produce the power that banishes darkness, the only thing that my men have to fear. He is disguised as one of their drones, yet he has the face of one of you."
"One of us..." Lloyd blinked, "...He means Morro!"
"Right," Monty growled, "They've been using him as a battery this entire time. Looks like they managed to hold onto him."
"Yes... he shares the face of one of the Hand," Kozu growled, "Go... now! You must take up the Hand's duty and defend the Emperor's goals. If they reach what they seek, then all is lost."
"Do you know what's down there?" Harumi asked as they began to shuffle past him.
"I do not," Kozu closed his eyes, "But you shall see, soon enough... the Emperor's greatest secret."
All of them collectively understood they had no time to lose. They quickly began to continue racing down the tunnel. Harumi, having kept track of where they were mentally, figured they were still roughly underneath the palace with the constant right turns the tunnel was making, perhaps on the grounds around it. The tunnel had wound on long and deep through the ground and now, it was coming to its end. The air around them became cool, signalling something up ahead. Further ahead was a blue light, one that seemed to shine from an opening. They all raced even further down until they were able to see what it opened out.
Blue flames burned on the wall of a chamber that was carved out by hand. Large stone pillars rose up in a roughly rectangular chamber that was several stories tall, signally to them why the tunnels had led so far underground. The chamber was mainly empty for the most part as they entered. Standing roughly halfway across the chamber's length were the Time Twins, surrounded by the Vermillion soldiers that they had brought with them. The sight of those they'd strived to take down, however, was nothing compared to what they saw across the chamber.
"No..." Lloyd shook his head, "No. Not now!"
"So that's how this all makes sense," Harumi whispered breathlessly.
Standing firm and imposing at the other end of the chamber, the object of desire the Time Twins had fought past the Emperor's forces to obtain, was an object that was encased in a massive sticky web of Dark Matter. Standing there, with a large crack across its chest, was an Iron Doom.