Chapter Text
If there was one thing about having access to another dimension that Lord Garmadon took full advantage of, it was being able to go there to get out of his volcano without being caught violating his house arrest.
Hence why he had insisted on taking Luh-Loyd to the other Ninjago for a father-son fishing trip in his tacky shark-shaped fishing boat for Father's Day rather than risk being caught by the coast guard in their own world.
Of course, when Lil'Loyd heard about that, he begged his own father to let them come along, so that was two more in the boat.
It quickly became five on the boat when the local Kai had heard what they were planning, and insisted on coming along, despite clearly sharing his counterparts utter fear of water.
"Why?" asked Lord Garmadon in exasperation as Kai scrambled up to the crow's nest at the top of the shark fin of the boat (i.e. the farthest place he could be from the water while on the said boat).
"Why not?" said Kai, and refused to explain more.
Luh-Loyd seemed to know what he was doing and laughed at the sight. "Don't bother trying to talk him out of it," he said to Lil'Loyd when asked. "My Kai tried to do the same when he heard our plans. If he didn't already have plans with his own dad for today, he'd have come too. Even then, we had to distract him and ditch him on Meowthra to keep him from tagging along. It's his protective big brother tendencies."
Lil'Loyd snickered at that reasoning and the miserable picture Kai made while atop the crow's nest. Determined despite clearly wanting to be anywhere but there.
"Didn't Mr. Ray want to have Father's Day with you and Nya too?" the smaller Green Ninja called up to him, giving him a chance to back out and go to the other Ninjago.
Kai's face pinched slightly, and it wasn't from his discomfort. "He did," he admitted. "Nya's already on her way over there on Ultra. I was gonna go, but… it didn't feel right."
The Garmadon family exchanged glances, all hearing what the Master of Fire left unsaid. It didn't feel right for him to celebrate Father's Day with anyone but his own dad, not even a dimensional counterpart was quite the same.
"Well, you're welcome to join us, if you feel you must," Sensei Garmadon offered kindly, knowing there was no talking the stubborn Fire Ninja out of it.
"Thanks," Kai muttered and hunkered down in the crow's nest to be prepared for a miserable trip.
Just as they were about to depart, something caught Lil'Loyd's eye and he elbowed his counterpart to get his attention.
Luh-Loyd looked up and saw Zane watching them prepare to go from the Bounty, his expression wistful. It was clear that like Kai, Zane was wishing he could spend the holiday with his real father, and didn't feel right replacing him with the other Dr. Julien, no matter how much he genuinely liked him, Pep Zane and Echo.
A silent agreement passed between the two blondes, and Luh-Loyd waved his hand to get the attention of the nindroid. "Hey, Zane! There's room for one more!"
"Wanna come?" asked Lil'Loyd.
Behind them, Sensei Garmadon smiled proudly, Kai sighed in relief knowing Zane could make ice floats should anything happen to the boat, while Lord Garmadon let out a groan and muttered complaints about "Stupid hitchhikers keep multiplying," under his breath.
Zane, meanwhile, perked up at the offer and was quick to join them. "Thank you, if I won't be intruding, it does sound like a lot of fun."
"The more the merrier," said Luh-Loyd.
"It was supposed to be a father-son trip," Lord Garmadon grumbled, but no one paid him any mind. Once they were out on the open water, Luh-Loyd went over to have his father teach him how to do some random fishing technique, and the attention cheered up the former warlord.
Things went well for the next few hours. There was sufficient father-son bonding with the Garmadon family, and Zane seemed to be enjoying himself as well, his fellow blondes going out of their way to make sure he didn't feel like a third (or in this case, fifth?) wheel. With all the fish they'd managed to catch, the nindroid was eager to speculate what recipes he would cook them with.
The only one not happy was, of course, Kai. He was trying his hardest not to complain and ruin the fun for everyone else, but his discomfort was practically wafting down from the crow's nest, and they all couldn't help but feel bad for him.
Even Lord Garmadon.
"Why did you even come if you're afraid of water?" he asked rudely up to the Master of Fire in his poor attempt to show concern. They'd been having a dry spell on catching fish for a while, and he brought it up to pass the time.
"Gotta protect the Lloyds!" Kai called back.
There was a beat as everyone absorbed that.
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Sensei Garmadon, looking bewildered.
Kai rolled his eyes. "Well, one gets kidnapped at the drop of a hat."
"HEY!" shouted Lil'Loyd indignantly.
"And the other is a total monster magnet," added Kai matter of factly.
"I am not a-!" Luh-Loyd started to say.
But before he could even finish the statement, a mass of tentacles suddenly burst out of the water just beside their boat, and one of them snatched up Lil'Loyd.
"Told ya!" shouted Kai as he raced down the ladder towards the action, sending fireballs at various tentacles as he went.
Luh-Loyd was too busy trying to grab Lil'Loyd back to comment.
Despite the danger, Lord Garmadon grinned. "Now this is a fishing trip!" he cheered, pulling a massive sword seemingly out of nowhere, and attacking the tentacle clutching Lil'Loyd. The little blond tumbled free, and Kai and Luh-Loyd caught him before he hit the deck of the boat.
The tentacles, meanwhile, writhed at the attack and ducked back below the sea, their owner letting out an angry groaning sound from beneath the waves.
They all got ready in case the tentacle monster tried to attack again, but then the sound of laughter caught them by surprise.
All of a sudden, what looked like starfish with fangs started launching themselves out of the water and attacking the boat.
"Starteeth!" said Sensei Garmadon, using his staff to smack some away from the boat.
"What are starteeth?" asked Zane, following his example and batting the fish away.
"Misako has warned me of these things," Sensei Garmadon replied. "They are nasty creatures that devour ships. Do not let them on board."
"Coooool!" said Lord Garmadon with a wide grin, reminding them all of his love for vicious ocean life.
"Oh, great," groaned Kai, not liking the idea of their boat sinking due to some bitey fish.
"Perhaps I can dissuade them," said Zane, grabbing the railing of the boat and coating the hull with a layer of jagged ice to serve as both protection and cover any damage they may have caused.
The laughter quickly dissipated as the starteeth seemed to not like the cold, and left to find easier prey.
The tentacle monster was not so easily discouraged. As they all heard it's groaning cry again, they knew it would soon come back.
"Luh-Loyd now would be a really good time for you to do that monster tamer thing I heard so much about," Lil'Loyd said as the tentacles appeared again.
Luh-Loyd looked around at the tentacles, and the owner of them stared back from eyeballs set into the suction cups of one. Well, if it got them out of this mess without anyone, including the monster, getting hurt, he was all for it.
"It's a leviathan!" said Lord Garmadon, sounding even more excited as he finally recognized it. "Like that mech I had once! Remember, Luh-Loyd! Oh, you thought those star-things were bad, they got nothing on this bad boy! I've always wanted to have one of these around the volcano, but they'd out eat the sharks, so… Nah. Can't have my sharks starving to feed one."
"So they eat fish?" said Luh-Loyd, wondering if it could smell their catches and was just hungry.
"Eh, they should," said his father, not particularly caring that it might be interested in eating them.
As the tentacles surrounded the ship, and Luh-Loyd hurried to the fish freezer, grabbed out two of the biggest catches they'd gotten, carried them to the edge and offered them out, speaking in a calm tone and offering assurances the entire time.
The tentacle with the eyeballs blinked at him before slowly coming over to take the fish from his hands and tug them below the waves. The monster then let out a loud groan and reached up for more.
Feeding it another fish, Luh-Loyd carefully patted at some of the more curious tentacles and said, "I don't think it really wants to hurt us. It's just hungry."
"We have not caught any fish for some time before it found us," said Sensei Garmadon thoughtfully. "Perhaps these waters are avoided by them due to its presence. Aside from starteeth, due to being poisonous and inedible."
"Oh, that is awesome. The poison part, not the leviathan having nothing to eat part, that's a darn shame," said Lord Garmadon, and they could all tell he was going to look up if they had starteeth in his world as well.
"Then why doesn't it leave?" asked Kai, who was still hovering protectively over Lil'Loyd, not letting him close to any of the tentacles despite being much more docile now. "Swim away and find someplace with more fish."
Zane, who had been peering over the side, spotted a massive chain attached to one of its tentacles. "It can't!" he said in realization, pointing it out to the others. "Look! Someone has trapped it here. It can't leave, and must be starving."
They all hurried over to look and saw he was right.
Zane glanced at Luh-Loyd and asked, "Could you keep it calm for a few minutes?"
Luh-Loyd blinked in surprise but nodded. "Sure," he said, still patting at the tentacles. He then made to give it another fish, getting another happy sound in response.
Zane then walked over to Lord Garmadon and plucked his giant sword from his hands. "I'll need to borrow this," he said, and before the former warlord could protest, the nindroid dove over the side of the boat and into the water, following the chain beneath the waves.
The leviathan seemed agitated when it saw this, but Luh-Loyd gave it another fish and patted it's tentacles to calm it down.
"Don't give it all the fish," Lord Garmadon grumbled.
"We can catch more, Dad," said Luh-Loyd with a roll of his eyes.
A second later, the chained tentacle rose up out of the water and shook itself to show it had been cut free. Zane resurfaced not long after, and they pulled him back onto the boat.
"Thank you," he said, handing the sword back to Lord Garmadon.
The former warlord only grumbled in reply and hurried to dry it off. Swords could be very finicky when wet, and he didn't want it ruined.
Now free, the leviathan stayed long enough to pat both Luh-Loyd and Zane on the head in thanks, before it swam off to find better fishing waters.
"Well, that's our good deed for the day," said Luh-Loyd, waving as it left.
"But why was it here?" asked Lil'Loyd, coming to the side to watch it go. "Who chained it up in the first place?"
"I believe we're about to find out," said Sensei Garmadon, and they turned to see what he was looking at.
The boat was now drifting towards a large rock jutting out of the sea with a lighthouse set at the top of it.
"It's a prison," said Zane in surprise. "The leviathan must have been chained here to guard it."
"Well, we're about to find out who the guest of honor is," said Lord Garmadon, having finished drying his sword and was testing the boat's controls as they continued to drift to shore. "That ice shell you gave us jammed the rudder, and we can't steer for spit until it melts."
"My apologies," said Zane.
When the boat ran aground, they climbed off and made their way up the path to the lighthouse, curious to see just who had needed a leviathan to guard them, and why.
Despite the fact it was clearly not a pleasant place to be, Kai instantly perked up at being off the boat with solid ground beneath his feet. He still kept close to both Lloyds, however, set on their continued protection. For all they knew, some dangerous criminal had been banished out here, and they just freed their guard.
The rest of them seemed to follow that line of thinking as well, with them all being on guard for any sneak attacks. This led to Zane taking the front, Sensei Garmadon, Kai and Luh-Loyd hovering protectively around their smallest member in the middle, and Lord Garmadon taking the rear with his giant sword.
They finally made it to the front door of the lighthouse, and a security camera above the entrance twitched and zoomed in on them. Whoever it belonged to definitely knew they were there.
Zane stepped forward to knock on the door, and the rest of them held their breaths.
The instant before Zane could hit the wood the door suddenly burst open, giving them enough time to see a bespectacled old man standing in the opening before he grabbed Zane's hand and yanked him inside, slamming the door shut behind him and there was the sound of a lock sliding into place.
It all happened so fast, they could only blink in incomprehension for a split second, before Kai was banging at the door himself, demanding the man give his friend back before he burned the place down.
"Dr. Julien?" asked Luh-Loyd in surprise.
Kai stopped his banging and turned to look at him. "What?"
"That was Dr. Julien," said Luh-Loyd, having recognized him. "He's Zane's dad!"
"But I thought Zane's dad was supposed to be dead here?" said Lil'Loyd in bewilderment.
"And now we get to fight a zombie," said Lord Garmadon with a grin. "Best. Fishing. Trip. EVER!"
"How is it we are counterparts again?" said Sensei Garmadon, shaking his head with a groan.
Behind the door, they overheard Zane coming to the same conclusion they did. "You! But- but I saw you-"
"Yes, yes, I know Zane," said an elderly voice that probably belonged to Dr. Julien. For some reason, he sounded slightly panicked. "I'm glad you found your memory switch, and it's so wonderful to see you again! Now quick, come with me before they get in!"
"Why?" Zane asked, sounding utterly confused. "Why did you just lock out my friends? What are you-?"
"That man isn't your friend, Zane!" insisted Dr. Julien, and from the scrambling sounds they heard, it sounded like he was trying to drag Zane elsewhere. "That is Lord Garmadon! He is evil beyond comprehension!"
"He was," Zane confirmed. "But he is better now. Both of them are."
"What?" asked Dr. Julien, and it seemed Zane took advantage of his confusion to snag the key and reopen the door. Seeing his friends looking just as bewildered as he was, he stepped aside to let them come in.
Kai, the Lloyds, and Sensei Garmadon all were able to come in, but just before Lord Garmadon could, Dr. Julien rushed forwards to slam the door again.
"OW!" cried the interdimensional ex-villain as it closed in front of him. "THAT WAS MY FACE!" he yelled as he began banging on the door.
Dr. Julien then turned back to Zane, and insisted, "I do not know what that man has told you, Zane, but he lied! He's the reason I was trapped here! He's not your friend!"
Zane gasped and turned to look at Sensei Garmadon, knowing his father was actually talking about him rather than his counterpart.
Sensei Garmadon shook his head in denial, looking just as lost as he was. As far as he recalled, he had never ordered the imprisonment of the scientist. He ruefully realized that if he had, then he would have surely used it against the ninja in some way when he was evil.
"He's not really Zane's friend, but he is my dad, and that was rude," said Luh-Loyd, moving to open the door again.
"He's also not who you think he is," added Kai. "He's a real jerk, but he isn't the jerk who trapped you here. That was a different jerk."
"I heard that," grumbled Lord Garmadon with a glare as his son let him in.
Dr. Julien looked terrified at the sight of him, and once again tried to drag Zane away from him.
"Father, please, it is alright," insisted Zane, trying to calm him down.
"He's right, we're just on a fishing trip, no one here's gonna hurt you," said Lil'Loyd.
"Indeed," said Sensei Garmadon. "I do not know what past transgression I made that led to your imprisonment, but if it was so, then the fault lies with me, not him."
Dr. Julien seemed to realize for the first time how small Lil'Loyd was, and not exactly the type of person you bring along when attacking someone. He also couldn't seem to understand why Sensei Garmadon was taking the blame for the matter.
Seeing the scientist was still lost, Zane took him by the hand and led him up the lighthouse stairs. "Why don't we sit down so we can explain everything."
Taking a seat at a table at the top of the lighthouse, Dr. Julien explained how he survived past when Zane's memories were shut off and why he was trapped on this rock. Zane in turn (with a few introjections from Kai and the Lloyds, and several from Lord Garmadon) explain who the counterparts were, and how they came to be there, and how both Garmadons were not evil anymore.
After hearing his tale, Sensei Garmadon came to the realization the Skulkin must have abducted the inventor to build them weapons to overthrow him back when they were under his rule. With Samukai's defeat, there had been no one aware of his location to free him or the leviathan afterward.
Unfortunately, Dr. Julien wasn't buying it.
"Alternate dimensions?" he asked. "Preposterous. It's just a theory, and one with no way to prove it."
"It is true," Zane insisted. "The Lloyds and Garmadons are the same people, but different versions of them from alternate worlds."
Dr. Julien looked over at the two sets of counterparts skeptically. Belatedly, they all realized they weren't exactly the best sets of counterparts to give as examples. Despite their resemblance, the Lloyds had too much of an age gap between them to be mistaken for the same person, and with Sensei Garmadon cured he and Lord Garmadon couldn't look more different.
Seeing this, Zane reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and displayed the lock screen. "Perhaps this will provide better proof," he said. "This is of me and my own counterpart."
Dr. Julien took the phone and looked at it. His eyes then widened behind his glasses, and he took them off to clean them and looked again.
Curious, the others leaned over to see what the picture was of.
In it was Zen Zane and Pep Zane standing mirrored to each other in identical dabs, and in between the two of them stood Echo, grinning at the camera in a T pose.
Luh-Loyd couldn't help but give a snort at the sight. "Of course it's a meme," he said to himself. "Seriously, Zane?"
"I admit I did not get the joke, but he was quite insistent," said Zane with a shrug and a smile.
"We've got more pictures if you want more proof," offered Kai, pulling out his own phone
Dr. Julien, meanwhile, didn't seem to hear him and grew ashen. "The small one there," he said, still focusing on Zane's picture. "He is…"
Zane glanced down at it, and said, "Oh, that is my counterpart's little brother, Echo."
Dr. Julien paled even further. "I forgot him again!" he shouted and hurried down the stairs.
"Forgot who?" asked Zane, taking off after him, leaving the rest at the top of the lighthouse.
Dr. Julien merely raced back down the lighthouse stairs and pulled a lever to open a secret basement.
Seeing who was inside the room had Zane freeze in the doorway and stare.
Sitting patiently on a crate in the middle of a room full of spare parts was another nindroid. While the same design as Zane, he was bronze and lacked the skin covering that Zane had, and appeared to be rusting at a rapid pace from the moist ocean air.
"Is it safe?" asked the nindroid in a voice similar to Zanes, but in an echoing, slightly higher pitch.
Dr. Julien let out a sad sigh, and said, "Yes, I am so sorry. How long have you been hiding?"
"Three days," said the nindroid, not sounding at all upset about that fact. He then caught sight of Zane and looked like he wanted to run and hide.
"It's alright," said Dr. Julien. "He is safe too. We're safe."
The nindroid relaxed slightly, and turned to Zane and said, "Hello, I am Zane, built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
Zane let out a chuckle, not resenting his father for building another nindroid to keep him company. The isolation couldn't have been kind to him. "Hello," he said in a friendly tone. "I am also Zane, the Master of Ice, and I was built to protect those who cannot protect themselves as well."
The bronze Zane's eyes widened. "You are the first Zane? Big Brother?" he said in realization, running over to hug Zane so hard he knocked them both to the floor.
While Zane had known from the start who this had to be, this just confirmed it. "It is nice to meet you, too," he said, helping the rusting nindroid back to his feet. "May I call you Echo?"
Echo Zane beamed.
"I'm sorry," said Dr. Julien, looking guilty. "I missed you so much, Zane. I built Z-Echo to keep me company while I was here." His face then fell even further. "But the tea Samukai used to revive me did not come without its consequences. I find I can not retain new memories beyond my temporary death without constant reminders. But with the leviathan constantly bearing down on us, I had to hide Echo so he would not be found, and then… I would forget he was there, sometimes for days at a time," he admitted, looking very distraught over that fact.
Echo moved over to pat Dr. Julien on the shoulder, showing he didn't hold it against him.
"It is alright, Father," said Zane, coming over to stand at his other shoulder. "I don't begrudge you wanting company. And now I have both my father back, and a new little brother. I couldn't be happier."
Dr. Julien smiled and pulled the three of them in a hug.
"Aww," they heard someone coo from above.
They glanced up to see the five clearly-eavesdropping other guests of the lighthouse scramble to get out of sight before they ruined the moment.
Dr. Julien chuckled at their antics. "What lively friends you have, Zane," he said. He glanced at the older nindroid curiously. "Those two are really from another world?" he asked, knowing there was no way Zane could have known about Echo otherwise.
"Yes, they are," said Zane to both. "They're all a bit strange, but they're a welcoming family that I'm happy to be part of, and I know they would want you both to be part of it too."
Echo looked eager and nodded rapidly.
Dr. Julien smiled and the three of them headed back up the stairs. "I think I'd like that."