Authors Notes: Please be aware their are three books before this one. Please read Zareth AU before reading this one. Chapters will come as soon as we can. Since this fic series is done by several different people it'll take longer then normal. Thanks for your patience.

Zareth, Malt, Glass, Colby, and Duck belong to Grumpy-Zane

Ryan, Sorcha, and Deity belong to Ask-The-Blind-Archer

Cricket belongs to lesbian-wooloo

Luna belongs to ElizabethJullien

Everyone else belongs to me

Please read and review!

Book 4

Part 2

Weight of the World

Chapter 8

Secrets Told

She had come to this world like every other refuge, through a rift as the realm she was on crumbled down around her. That had been her home, all she had ever known. Her father and Uncles had crumbled with the realm. Although when she got there...she wasn't in the best of conditions. Dark matter flowed through her.

If it weren't for Danika and her ability to help her get rid of the dark matter with a chemical she and Borg had designed to free her of the horrible stuff, then she probably would have killed someone, or may have possibly died too.

Zane from the current realm was in mourning. His son had been killed, and his wife Pixal was slowly beginning to die.

She wasn't meant to live as long as an elemental master.

So he was left alone.

Zane soon saw that Luna needed him, and he needed her.

They began to cling to one another for support, friendship, and later on-they became family.

Luna began to call Zane her father. It was what she needed and she was grateful for him.

Now that Zane was gone, she stood there with his power source within herself. She took on his mission to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

"Luna! Hard to starboard!" Kyo yelled at the top of her lungs so Luna could hear.

Rain poured harshly on the survivors of a raiding party that called themselves Lunarians.

From the three hundred plus people of a small farming village that grew apples, and peaches, there were only one hundred and thirty four people left.

Max stood in the center of the people as the Destiny's Revenge flew right.

The rain was pushed off the scared people. A few babies began to cry as the lightning crackled across the sky.

Aoi held her hand up into the air acting as a lightning rod. The lightning hit her and was thrown out the other hand as it stretched out toward the other side of the ship. She stood there and gave them the thumbs up before slumping back down into a sitting position against the mast. "I'm getting too old for this!"Aoi cried out in exasperation, leaning her head back against the wood.

"You're only 17 Aoi, you've barely begun!" Max called out to his sister, starting to laugh.

"Be quiet…" She said, stretching and trying to get comfortable against the mast of the ship.

Max laughed harder, watching his sister.

"Almost there!" Luna called out as she sighed, looking down at the many people below.

Each one seemed to be lost.

They all must have lost someone they knew.

So many children without parents.

Luna felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, a painful lump building in her throat.

"Hey…"

Luna jumped, turning to look at someone who looked a lot like she did.

The familiar looking droid had bronze plating, her hair was back in a braid, and she was accompanied by a female oni.

The oni held an infant in her rather large hands. The baby seemed to disappear as she held her close.

"Digital? Sorry it was getting to me." Luna said, watching them carefully.

"Yes...we know." The oni named Mei said. Mei herself was an outcast of her own family. She was too friendly to be one of them, but now she had a daughter, named Willow who lay in Mei's hands.

Willow was sound asleep and every bit as beautiful as her mothers.

Luna promised to protect them all.

(0)

Hope's head ached horribly.

Kino watched as she walked around Sorcha's yard, trying to get some fresh air. He often found himself acting a bit overprotective of her. It was probably Zareth's influence on her, or maybe it had something to do with the way he felt himself. This girl showed up in his life and one of his incarnations was her father. Doesn't that make her, his too? Kino sighed and ran his hand over his face. Turning to look up at Ryan, he raised an eyebrow.

Ryan sat on Sorcha's front porch, eating extra spicy ramen. The amount of spice didn't seem to bother him at all.

Kino could smell the peppers from where he stood and it burned his nose. "How can you eat that?" He asked, confused as to how a human being could stand such spice.

Ryan slurped down the bite of noodles he had been chewing, shrugging and wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "I've always been able to. Why do you ask?"

Kino chuckled as he sat down next to Ryan. "Just don't want your mouth falling off and running away." He glanced at his own rather plain flavored cup of ramen on the step next to him. "Hope is remarkable. I watch her walk around the yard, one foot in front of the other and I can just feel Zareth a few steps behind her. I can't explain how." Kino sighed as he looked up at Ryan again. "I still wish I could tell Gran that her daughter is kind, caring, loving and just...wonderful. I don't normally say those things, y'know. I suppose it's Zareth saying those things through me or maybe…just maybe it's me."

"Nah, spice never bothered me." Ryan shook his head. "I'm not sure if it's you or Zareth, but I know you both care about her. I'm sure Danny knows how she is." He frowned and rubbed his chin. "Though I'm not sure if she's really dead. It's possible, but the few times we thought she was dead, she came back somehow."

Kino shook his head. He knew the stories. About how Danny would show up when someone least expected it. He sighed and rubbed his knees absentmindedly, trying to get his mind off of the truth he knew.

Not this time.

Danny wouldn't be back this time.

"Danny had replacement bodies back at the cave. It's where I found Hope. There weren't any more bodies. It looked like the last one had been torn apart." Kino said as he looked over at Hope, who walked over to them and sat down.

"Hey, you hungry?" Kino held out his bowl, offering it to Hope.

Hope took it from him and started to eat using her fingers.

"Uh...you should use your fork-" Kino sighed. "Nevermind. As long as you're eating, I guess."

Ryan huffed and looked down at Hope. He took her hands out of the bowl and cleaned them off. "Listen, you can't go through life eating with your hands all the time." He cleaned off Kino's fork and put it in Hope's hand, showing her how to grip it. "Just twirl the noodles around it like this-" Ryan helped her get the noodles on the fork, then held it up to her mouth. "Like that, okay?"

Kino sighed as he watched Ryan help Hope. "You have a lot more experience with kids than I do. The only one of our incarnations that actually was a parent was Glass's counterparts, and Colby. He never really met them though." He said as he watched Hope trying to mimic what Ryan was teaching her.

"I don't mind teaching her." Ryan shrugged and watched Hope, making sure she did it right-or at least did her best. "Zareth was as much a parent to Otto as he could be. Wasn't his kid, but being a parent or family to someone isn't always blood related business."

"Yeah, but Gran died when dad was seven. Dad already knew the important stuff. Like potty training, eating, putting on your own clothes. Stuff like that. But…" He looked up at his Uncle. "...taking care of someone whose parents have died is a big job...one I'll have to learn."

"I can help if you want." Ryan looked up from his noodles and then to Kino. "How old is Ryder?"

Ryder walked out of the house just then with a cup of spicy noodles in his hands.

"Apparently old enough to have spicy noodles. Oh you should see him with potstickers. He eats like a grown man." Kino said with a chuckle.

[My boy will be five summers old.] Malt said as she licked her paws. She had some of the spicy powder on them. Malt cringed as she tasted it. [And I prefer sweets!] She sneezed, shaking her head as though trying to rid her mouth of the taste.

Ryan watched Malt cringe and dug in his pocket, pulling out the last sweet he had. "Maybe this will taste better than the spicy powder, hm? You don't seem to like it."

Malt got up on her hind legs like a dog would as though it were begging for scraps. Some of her drool hit the porch.

"Uh oh...might want to get some water unless you want to be fused to the porch." Ryder said.

Kino sighed and walked inside to ask Sorcha for some water.

Sorcha lifted her head from making tea to see Kino coming into the house. "Is everything alright?"

Kino pointed toward Malt, who was still continually drooling as she begged for the sweet. "Malt is drooling. She's a melding dragon so the drool's going to be adhesive. "

"Hm…" Sorcha had to think about it for a moment. "Would you need hot or cold water?"

Kino opened his mouth, pausing as he thought about it. "Hot water might actually be easier to clean it with." He jumped when Ryder laughed at the tiny squeaking noises Malt was making.

"Awww she's so cute…" Kino slapped himself as the thought of one of his past selves slipped out of his mouth. "Guh...Duck...stop that!" He growled.

"Malt is cute." Sorcha shrugged and filled a cup with hot water, carefully taking it outside. "Nothin' wrong with that."

Kino gritted his teeth as he rubbed his head. "It's the distance. Duck is the first in the line of incarnations. It's a little harder and a lot more painful when she takes control."

"Understandable." Sorcha said as she stood over Malt and watched her. "Hold still, please."

Malt gasped and hissed at the water as she bounded down the steps.

Ryder jumped out of the way of the slobber, and watched as she turned around going down on her front.

Malt wagged her tail, showing that she wanted to play with Sorcha.

Setting the water aside and kneeling down, Sorcha gently rubbed Malt's head. "Oh, you want to play?"

Malt ran in a circle around Sorcha and wagged her tail some more.

"Well she has been cooped up for a few days now. There's a yard, and someone to play with. Right now Ryder is still kinda hurt, so he can't do anything to stress his hip out till the skin heals." Kino said as he watched Malt run around.

"Or, you could play with her Kino?" Ryder said.

Malt scoffed at Ryder's suggestion and turned away, snout in the air.

"She hates me." Kino frowned and crossed his arms.

Sorcha frowned and picked Malt up, rubbing behind her ears. "Why do you hate Kino?"

Malt purred laying back so Sorcha could rub her chin. [I do not hate him, he doesn't pet me correctly, he's a bit mean too.]

Sorcha gently rubbed Malt's chin. "You really should teach him how to pet you correctly. Some cats will grab people's hands and pull them to the correct spot."

Malt turned and looked at Kino whose eyes were glued to Hope.

Hope was sitting down on a stump, rubbing her head.

Kino stood up and walked over, gently starting to rub her shoulders.

[His attention is on that one right now. She smells like...him.]

"Like Zareth, right? I mean that is his kid so I'd assume she smells like him to you." Sorcha offered Malt another sweet.

Malt's tail swung wildly as she took the sweet between her paws and licked it, gently gnawing on it. [Sweet...Sweet] She sang as she purred loudly.

"I don't get to cook for anyone anymore, so I don't mind making you some sweets." Sorcha gently patted Malt's head.

Ryder shook his head. "Don't give her to many sweets. She'll get a bad stomach ache, and get all clingy, then drool on you." He said as he laid back in the grass.

[That was once.] Malt complained.

"My shoe didn't come off for two weeks!" Ryder huffed and crossed his arms.

"Ah, I don't mind it." Sorcha carefully rubbed under Malt's chin again. "It's nice to be able to cook for someone again."

Ryder looked back and forth between Sorcha and Malt. Tucking his tail between his legs, he ran over and hugged Sorcha. "Thank you." He whispered before going back to his ramen.

Malt looked perplexed. [I think my boy is lonely.]

Sorcha watched Ryder happily eating and smiled. "He likely is. His parents are no longer around, and the only one he really has to play with is you." She shrugged. "Losing family can really mess with you."

Malt nuzzled Sorcha. [And you? I smell lots of old smells here that don't belong to you. You have children...somewhere?] She asked.

Sorcha paused looking down at Malt. "Yes, I do. They're all grown now though. Moved out a long time ago." Sorcha shook her head. "I have three. Gyro, Xira and Roto. They don't visit much anymore..its alright though."

Malt laughed softly. [ They're off having their own lives now. Perhaps someday they'll give you pups of their own.] She said as she climbed down from Sorcha's arms. [I see how you are with my boy. I'm sure your pups are happy.]

"It's up to them if they want kids, really." Sorcha shrugged. "Honestly though? I can keep myself busy. I'm still Glitzer, you know?" She gently tugged Malt's cheek.

Malt looked at her questioningly as she turned to Ryder. [Glitzer? What is a Glitzer?] She asked, tilting her head to the side.

Ryder shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Sounds sparkly to me."

Sorcha chuckled a little. "Right, right. You guys live in a different Ninjago." She shook her head. "I just do some vigilante stuff at night. All night until the sun rises."

Ryder put his chopsticks down and ran his sleeve over his face to clean the broth and noodles off. "So you're like Spider-Man? Well...Spider-Woman." He asked, looking at Malt who looked amazed.

[You are full of surprises aren't you?] Malt said as she licked her paws free of the sweet that she had eaten. [Especially with these sweets.]

"Uh...I suppose so, yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I've got a shift in a few hours, but I dunno if ya'll want me to stay here in case you need something." Sorcha looked at Malt. "I don't know about full of surprises, but I do my best. I haven't had visitors in a very long time. This was nice."

Kino looked up at Sorcha. "Its okay, I'm sure that if we need something Uncle Ryan will help us, Aunt Sorcha. You go do your hero thing." He told her and jumped when there was a clap of thunder not to far off. He looked around at Hope who stood up straight and immediately hugged him. His look of surprise lasted but a moment. He could hear Zareth telling him how Danny was afraid of storms and must have instilled that in her too.

"Hey...let's get you inside. That sound normally means its going to rain." He guided her up onto the porch.

"It will not harm anyone will it?" Hope frowned and watched the sky as they went inside.

"Not if you are under cover. Like a house." Kino shook his head as he led her inside.

"Oh. Alright." Sorcha got up from her spot with Malt, setting the dragon down. "You guys can uh...stay in the house for as long as you need." She let out a sigh and went into the house, patting Ryder on the head before heading into the basement.

Ryan picked Ryder up, setting him on the couch. "Storm shouldn't last too long, if it does come by anyways."

Kino shook his head. "It will storm, it'll last about ten minutes before moving on. No biggy." He said jumping when he fell apart.

Kira lay on the floor panting as Omino sat up rubbing his head. "Okay that hurt. What gives?" He looked down at his sister who was rubbing circles around her temples.

"My head is killing me." Kira said as she tried to ease the headache she currently had.

[Stress separation. It can hurt.] Malt said.

"Are you two alright?" Ryan frowned, leaning down to help Kira up. "Why did you two pop apart?"

Kira rubbed her head again, then reached into her pocket to pull out her medication.

"Kira is...different from myself and Ryder." Omino tried to make it seem less like an intrusion of her privacy while he explained.

"I'm more human than they are. So I'm prone to more, well…everything." She said as she held up her medication. "I end up in the hospital at least once a month because of it. Uncle Cryptor always shows up just to put his hand on my head and tell me to go." Kira stuffed the bottle back into her pocket after taking a pill. "I hate it."

"Dang. I'm sorry you hate it. I-" Ryan flinched when the basement door opened and Sorcha came out in her Glitzer mech suit, helmet locked on and ready to go.

"You uh...you going to work early, sis?" Ryan frowned.

Sorcha nodded as she turned to look at Ryder. She silently waved.

Ryder's jaw hit the floor and he ran over, slowly running his fingers over the suit. "Can I come? I can be your sidekick! I know Spinjitzu!" He yelled.

"You do not!" Omino chuckled as he rubbed Ryder's head.

"Yes huh!" Ryder complained.

Sorcha shook her head. Her voice modulator was already on so her voice was unrecognizable. "No, I'm sure they'd want you to stay home. Besides, if you need anything I'm sure Ryan can take care of it, right?" She turned to look at Kira and Omino who had popped apart. "Ryan can take care of everything." Sorcha hugged the two of them, turning back to Ryder. "Hey, here...if it'll make you feel better-" She went over to a small box on the desk and dug around in it. She pulled out a badge she often gave kids at the orphanage, going over and pinning it onto Ryder's shirt.

Omino watched Sorcha as she went to leave. "Aunt Sorcha?" He was normally the quiet one, so him speaking up was rare. "Kino's kind of a jerk, but he knows how important your work is, and he doesn't think he's worth sticking around for." He said to her. "You save lives. People need you, while we're here safe. Go...Go save them. They need you."

Sorcha paused metal fingers gripping the door frame. "Yeah...thanks. I appreciate it. I'll probably be gone until seven in the morning, though." Turning back to Ryan, she pointed to the closet behind him.

"Weapons are behind the coats." She closed the door as she left and began speeding toward the city with the rollerblades built into her suit.

Omino looked deep in thought as he turned toward Ryan. "I said something stupid...didn't I?" He asked, frowning and rubbing his arm.

Ryan shook his head. "Nah...it's partially my fault. Haven't been in contact with someone in a long time, and she's been here in the mountain alone for even longer." He stood up and locked the front door, turning and gently patting Omino's shoulder in reassurance. "It looks like she's been holding stuff in again, except for that little outburst on me earlier." Ryan cleared his throat. "I kinda deserved that."

"Yeah I'll say. I mean…" Kira thought about it and sighed. "Did your kids know you were alive and did you know about your daughter's kids?"

"Yeah, I know about Jimmy." He frowned "I didn't know about the second kid though. I…"Ryan sighed and looked at Kira. "I'll admit, Inky's death messed me up real bad." He shook his head. "I didn't think it'd get so bad that I hid from humanity for that long."

Kira looked around at him. "Casper, his name is Casper. They kept him hidden along with his brother. He's about 14 years old. He's probably with Uncle Min still, working at the cafe."

"Your uncle Min?" Ryan frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Because that stuff was legal here like...ages ago. Robots, and human stuff is legal here in this universe."

Kira looked up at him and pointed behind her like her realm was right there. "I mean our Uncle Min, and...they hid him...because of what he was. Strange, white ink, with red eyes. He was bullied...a lot."

Ryan frowned. "I wouldn't hide a kid just because they were bullied. Coulda swore I taught Danika to confront bullies."

Omino shook his head. "Confronting bullies is one thing, but when it happens over and over again, no matter what you do…" He sighed. "He ended up in the hospital a few times with broken bits, and you can't…" He looked up at Ryan. "We are hybrids. We aren't all exactly the same on the inside. One wrong move surgically and we stop...just like a watch."

"I'm not saying that's not true, but I wouldn't hide a child away from society because of that." Ryan shook his head. "If mom had done that to Sorcha…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nevermind, do you think we could go see him someday?"

Omino shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. I kinda wanna go see Uncle Cryptor anyway. He's got the keys to the tombs. Imma need them...so we can bury dad."

"Which Cryptor? I ask because the one here has been shut down for at least ten years or so." Ryan shook his head.

Ryder sat down on the couch. "Uncle Cryptor's been staying in Uncle Zane's old place. He stopped working with the police a few years ago. He's been looking out for Luna ever since."

"Oh you mean the one in your realm?" Ryan shrugged. "Do you think it's safe to go back there?"

Kira shook her head. "Doesn't matter. These things are relentless and it's obvious that they're aliens. They live out there." She pointed up. "They probably came here to steal our brains." Kira giggled as Ryder hid under the table.

"Okay I'm joking Ryder. They don't want your brain." She joked. "You don't have one."

"Oh he does so." Ryan knelt down and peered under the table, hugging Ryder. He turned to look at Kira and stuck his tongue out at her. "If he didn't he couldn't walk or talk. He's got a brain of some kind."

Kira giggled. "Tell that to the jellyfish who swim perfectly fine in the ocean." She laughed as she felt Omino swat her arm. "Okay, all jokes aside we should be fine. Its not like they have a beacon or something right?" She asked.

"I don't think they do, no." Ryan shook his head. "Do you think we should go now or after the storm?"

"After, please." A soft voice said from under the blankets. All you could see were Hope's glowing blue eyes.

"Oh yeah...she's afraid of storms." Ryder said.