Resetting Mindset

Scrap and Junk

9:00 PM

Nya's tracker was plugged into the Walker's television set, transferring the image from the small screen to the larger one. Her fingers flew over the tracker's keyboard, and all eyes were glued to the television.

"Alright," Nya said. "Rebooting the system.. tapping into surveillance..."

"You're a regular genius, Nya," Garmadon said as the screen flickered.

"Thanks... Monitor fourteen... And here we are."

The television screen flashed. Then an image was projected onto it. A dark room; the storage room.

Nya's hands tapped the keyboard again, and the camera switched modes to night vision. Then heat vision. Nothing showed up besides the boxes lined up, shelf upon shelf.

"Clear on the storage room," Nya said. She hit another key, and the screen changed. "Camera thirteen..."

She continued to check all the cameras. The others felt hope rise in their chests.

"Camera eight," Nya murmured.

It showed the dark entryway to the Bridge. Nya furrowed her brow and switched the camera's filter to night vision.

The people watching jumped.

"Doesn't look like the Bounty's safe after all," Garmadon said. He put his head in his hands. "Great. Just perfect."

"Hold on, Gom," Misako said. She pointed to the screen. "He doesn't look like he's trying to infiltrate. Look!"

The man in the doorway to the Bridge was looking around. "Hello?" he said.

"The Mailman, perhaps?" Nya suggested.

"Zoom in on his face," Edna said. "Maybe we could recognize him."

Nya abandoned the keyboard and spread her fingers apart on the tiny touchscreen of her tracker. The image was blown up on the television screen. "Doesn't look like anyone I know," Nya said. "And he's definitely not the Mailman."

The man's face read anxiety. He had thick, dark eyebrows and a mustache, and his features were tired and old.

Edna stood up. "I know him!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Wu said.

"I know him - that's Lou Brookstone, London's husband!"

"Cole's father," Nya clarified. She narrowed her eyes at the image of Lou's face. "But what's he doing at the Destiny's Bounty at this time of night?"

Lou peered around the doorway. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone... is anyone here?"

His hands trailed away from the walls as he stepped into the Bridge. He looked around nervously; Nya noticed that his fingers were fidgeting with his coat's sleeves. "I don't have much time," he said aloud to the empty Bridge. "Please - is anyone here?"

"Why is he so distressed?" Nya wondered softly.

"I have to tell you something," Lou said. "It's about NinjaGo - it's not safe anymore. There are terrible things that are going to happen!"

The audience in the Walkers' trailer leaned forward. Lou looked around again; his step was uncertain and he glanced around as he walked. "Is anyone here?"

Nya shook her head and glanced to her Sensei. "What do we do?"

"Can you use the intercom to speak from here?" Sensei asked. "Perhaps you could address him?"

"No," Nya said. "And even if I could, I'd need a microphone. My tracker's mic is too small."

Edna spoke. "Whatever he knows," she said, "we need to know, too. Lou would not come unannounced to the Destiny's Bounty if he didn't have something extremely important to tell us."

Nya and Wu both nodded, when Cole's father on the screen suddenly froze. Their heads snapped back to the television.

"Cole?" Lou said. A little desperately. "Is that you?"

Nya's eyes widened. "What...? Is there someone on the ship with him?"

She tapped the screen, switching cameras to monitor six. The outside wall of the Bridge. A woman in dark clothing and a mask drew a dagger from her belt and flattened herself against the wall, peering around the doorway ever so slightly.

"Uh-oh," Edna said.

"He's in trouble!" Sensei Wu said. He jumped up, and was followed quickly by everyone else. "We have to do something!"

Nya tapped the keyboard frantically, switching monitors back to the eighth. There has to be something we can do! she thought. She slid the live image into the corner of the screen and pulled up a page of controls. I should be able to access the Bounty's security system from here... please let me be able to access it!

Lou was backing up slowly. "If no one's here," he called nervously, "I'll just... go."

He backed up nearer and nearer to the doorway, where the woman was hiding.

"Nya!" Garmadon said. "There's a man about to be killed on our ship! Do something!"

"I am doing something!" Nya shot back. "Give me a minute!"

Security is down... I can't restart it, or Lou will be targeted, too, and it would take too long to program his information into the Bounty... I'll have to manually access and man the security. That will take way too long!

"I can't -" Nya tried to say.

"Yes you can, Nya!" Garmadon barked. "You have to! Cole's father is about to be jumped by a dark figure with a knife!"

"I can't do it in time," Nya said desperately. Her eyes darted from the screen to her keyboard. "I can't... it's going to take too long to access the security, if it's possible to access it at all -" she halted. The page was flashing at her. "It's not even possible!"

"Try, Nya," Sensei Wu said. "Just try. Gom, hush, she can't focus with your shouting."

Lou was turning. He started out the doorway; in that instant the woman jumped forward and clocked him on the head with the pommel of her dagger. He collapsed.

"No!" Edna said, and the whole room gasped.

"Sorry, pops," The woman said. "But you know just a little too much. You're coming with me."

Garmadon gave a strangled cry, then tugged at his hair, eyes wide and voice constricted. "That's Eboni!" he said. "The little sneak, that's Eboni!"

"Eboni?" Edna said. "The young girl who threw shurikens at you? This is a disaster!"

Nya slid the screen again, from the security controls to a her Samurai X controls. Her mind raced as fast as her fingers. If I can access the Samurai X from here, she thought, through it I could activate Samurai Z at the Bounty, and establish its target as Eboni. Come on, come on!

Eboni's dagger was back in her belt and thick rope was now bound Lou's wrists. She looked around the Bridge once, then came into the room again, letting Lou slump up against the wall as he moaned in pain.

"What is she doing now?" Wu said.

Eboni approached the dashboard. She flicked the Destiny's Bounty's power on, and the monitor in the bridge flickered to life, asking for a password. With barely a moment's hesitation she took something small and black out of the pocket of her uniform and shoved it into the USB slot.

The screen flashed. Then opened onto the Bounty's desktop.

Nya gaped. "How - I set the Bounty not to accept passcode drives! How did she fool the system?"

"I told you," Garmadon said through gritted teeth. "She's a hacker."

"Even a good hacker shouldn't be able to stroll in and override the Bounty like that!" Nya said.

Eboni opened the finder, and command-selected all the files that showed up. On the desktop, a jumpdrive icon had appeared, and she dragged the files to it.

Misako gasped. "She's downloading the Bounty's information again - if she gets that, then she'll be able to take the ship and Nya's Samurai mech!"

Her hands flying over the keyboard, Nya said, "I'm on it. The Samurai Z is still on the Bounty - I'm trying to access it."

"Samurai Z?" Edna said.

"She has multiple Samurai suits," Misako explained hastily. "Just in case there's ever an emergency like this one."

"Aha," Edna said, nodding. "Good thinking."

Eboni proceeded to lean over the dashboard and press the button on the peculiar jump-drive. The Bounty's screen flickered, then a new set of files appeared in front of Eboni.

"No way," Nya breathed. "She decoded my hidden files. I don't believe it."

Wu looked over at her. "You have hidden files?" he said.

"Important ones," Nya said. "I encrypt the files with the information on civilians and missions, so that they don't fall into the wrong hands... but she just decrypted them like that!"

"Hurry, Nya," Garmadon said. "We don't have time to waste!"

Nya's heart pounded in her ears. Eboni's typing speed matched Nya's own, and within two minutes she would have all the information she needed - she was fast, and Nya needed to be faster.

"You can do it, Nya," Misako said softly. The others watched Nya's fingers as they switched from the tracker's keyboard to its touchscreen.

The request to access the Samurai Z popped up on her tracker's screen. "Yes yes yes," Nya said frantically, hitting enter. The Samurai Z's functions replaced the request. "Power on, weaponry on, command source open..." Nya opened the tab titled "command source" on the bottom left corner - a small document with the characters /What would you have me do? on its white page.

Eboni was still downloading the Destiny's Bounty's information. Nya tapped the document and commanded the Samurai Z.

/What would you have me do?

Target = _intruder_; Nya typed. If lifeform(15-meters), target; Method _hostage_; /leave them alive and unhurt.

The Samurai Z processed this, then a new sentence flashed beneath hers.

Request successful.

"The Samurai Z is up and running!" Nya said. "Target is Eboni. She's not getting out of there with that information."

The room let out a sigh. "Yes!" Edna cheered. Wu fell backwards onto the couch, wiping his forehead, while Garmadon and Misako both laughed, relieved.

With shaking hands, Nya switched the monitor to the eleventh; her room, where the Samurai Z mech was. The mech was hobbling out of the door. Though comparatively smaller than the Samurai X, only about the size of a human, it had features that the more powerful mech didn't.

Nya slid the image back to the Bridge. The Destiny's Bounty's information and controls were about half downloaded. While it was downloading, Eboni was cruising around on the Bounty's desktop.

A pop-up appeared on Nya's tracker. "Alert: more than one user on this network", it read.

Nya smiled, but it came out as a grimace. No duh.

Eboni flicked a switch on the strange jump drive. Words flashed on the screen: File count: 47. Files downloaded: 28/46.

She frowned, then went back to the finder, scrolling through the files that appeared.

"Ha," Nya said. "She's never going to get this one."

The others looked at her, confused. Nya explained, "I hid a file's contents completely by throwing an empty file over the top of it and disabling the link between the two. To anyone who doesn't know what it is, it's just an empty file."

Garmadon laughed. "What did I tell you? She's genius."

Eboni rubbed her chin as she scrolled. Then she stopped. The cursor hovered over an empty file. Nya's smile faded.

"No way."

Eboni selected the file and hit delete.

A pop-up flashed, stopping her. File cannot be deleted. Eboni grinned widely.

"Well-played, Samurai," she muttered, and opened the file. Inside it was a document.

Nya fell backwards onto the couch, her hands in her hair and her eyes wide. "I'm no genius," she whispered. "She is. Whatever that jump drive was programmed to do, it did it. I don't believe it..."

At that moment, a loud crash emitted from the television's speakers, and Eboni whipped around.

The Samurai Z stood in the doorway to the Bridge, looking at Eboni, almost inquisitively.

Eboni took one look at it and whirled, clicking the empty file and telling the computer to download its contents. The computer argued that it had no contents, so with a growl, Eboni dragged the document from the file and dropped it onto the jump drive's icon.

"Target intruder," the Samurai Z said. Eboni backed up from the dashboard, pulling two daggers from her belt and lifting her mask.

"Great," she said sarcastically. "Just make this easier for me by throwing in the giant remote-controlled robot. Thanks a lot."

Lou was starting to regain consciousness. He looked up at the mech suit above him and gave a soft chuckle.

"Heyyy.." he murmured. "It's the Samurai lady. Cole's told me all about you and your gizmos... thanks for the rescue."

Down, PTR

7:30 AM

Hurry up.

Kai skidded, putting his hand to the floor as the hot wind from his Spinjitzu tornado swirled around him. Sparks flickered and died, and the flames from his whirlwind licked his face before puffing out. He ran a gloved hand across his forehead and frowned.

The world depends on it. I'm so close...

Kai gritted his teeth, then spun. He let the bright, fiery tornado envelop him, clutching the stone in his hand tighter, seeking Shauto's presence.

Spinjitzu is Shauto. I've known it all along, I've used it over and over again. So... so why can't I...

Shauto was there. He could sense it. He couldn't quite feel it, or see it, or touch it, but he knew it was there. It came with the peace of Spinjitzu, the tranquility of the Takigyo waterfall - just out of his reach and just real enough to make him want it.

It was as much an internal struggle as it was a physical one. With his body, he drew close to Shauto; with his mind, he reached out to it. He had been training for hours with no success, but he was determined to learn it.

He had to learn it.

And then, quite suddenly, he could feel it. Peaceful, bright.

Right there.

Grab it. Grab it now.

The tornado around him spun faster. Flames jumped and spiraled as he sped up, reaching for Shauto, his hand stretched out for it.

Almost... got it...

He lunged, and Shauto dodged.

Kai gave a shout and toppled over, his Spinjitzu snuffing out as he hit the floor.

Kai moaned. He brought his hand to his head, which was pounding with a migraine, and sat up wearily.

He couldn't believe he had missed Shauto again. The elusive thing. If London was right, and Shauto was really a being with real intelligence, Kai would have thought that it was teasing him.

No matter. He had to keep trying. He wasn't ready to let Shauto beat him.

"Don't be so pushy."

Kai stood up quickly, fear prickling at his mind. He cursed. "December," he said, turning around, wringing his hands. "You scared me."

"Oh - sorry," December said. She and Lloyd stood to the side of the Ninja's training area, watching Kai push himself - Kai had no idea how long they had been there, but they had probably been watching him for some time. Lloyd was probably waiting his turn.

Kai stretched, his muscles crying out. He ignored the ache. "You're going to just stand there and watch me, then?" he said, slightly annoyed.

December's expression was candid. "You shouldn't try so hard."

You shouldn't try so hard. Why? Was there some reason why December was so intent on making him lose confidence?... Did December think that he couldn't handle learning Shauto because of his condition? She should know that he was almost cured. A few more Takigyo sessions and the fear would be gone.

She thought he was weak. That he wasn't good enough for this.

"What is your da-" he started, then cut himself off abruptly. It was happening again. He could feel fear and anger taking over his thoughts, making his hands shake and his thoughts treacherously frantic.

He clenched his fists, bit his tongue; he looked away, breathing out his frustration and fear.

He hated this fear.

"I can't not try," he said finally, swallowing the tremor in his voice. "The world depends on us learning Shauto and getting rid of Whisperers."

"Right," December said. "And just what good are you to NinjaGo if you've fainted from exhaustion?"

Crack. Kai's knuckles popped. He clenched his hands together, a little sheepishly.

"Besides," she said. "You're going about it all wrong. You're more than prepared to accept Shauto, but you're not allowing it to come."

"Fine," Kai said suddenly. His tone was harsh, and he closed his mouth and swallowed. "Sorry," he muttered, then turned away, rocking back and forth on his heels.

December and Lloyd watched him compose himself. Kai refused to look at either of them - he knew what their countenances would be.

Lloyd would look worried and December would look pitying.

"Every time I think I'm fine," Kai growled to himself, "I snap. Ohh, I can't wait to learn Shauto and get my hands on a Whisperer... they're gonna pay for messing me up..."

He turned back to them. Their expressions shifted quickly, and Kai pursed his lips. "Alright, then. Tell me what I'm doing wrong."

"I already did." December stepped into the Spinjitzu rectangle, holding a gloved hand out to Kai. "Here."

Kai took the peppermint from her outstretched hand and popped it in his mouth.

"Don't push so much," December advised. "When you're reaching out to Shauto, you have to let it reach out to you. It comes more naturally than you think."

"Alright, alright. So you're telling me to be patient." Kai let out a breath through his nose and spread his feet apart, gearing up to perform Spinjitzu again.

"That's one way you could put it," December said. "Give it another go."

The Master of Fire gritted his teeth, while December left the area that he was training in, standing beside Lloyd to watch. Then he started spinning, whirling in a circle until fire erupted around him.

Don't push. Let Shauto reach out to you... You can do this, Kai.

The tornado was gaining speed as the same sort of tranquility washed over him again. The tranquility which he assumed was Shauto.

There it is... don't push it, just let it come to you. Just be patient.

Patient.

Then it hit him. All at once, all a blur, all so fast and beautiful.

He gasped. His knees buckled, and fire around him flickered and disappeared.

"Kai!"

Lloyd's voice. He was shaking Kai's shoulders, his face hovering above the Master of Fire's, worry in his features. "Kai, are you alright?"

What could he call it? Peace? Zen? Nirvana? Point-blank joy? What had hit Kai so hard that it knocked him over?

"Are you alright?"

"Weak," Kai managed. He coughed. Lloyd helped him sit up; December was there, too, looking equally concerned and serious.

"Weak?" she repeated.

"Y-yeah," Kai said. "I feel weak... but good."

December's worried expression broke, and she smiled. "Well, that was a dramatic acceptance," she said.

Kai shook his head. "N-no. No, I didn't accept Shauto..."

He turned sharply to look at her. "Take me to the Takigyo garden."

"The - the Takigyo garden?"

"Take me there. I have to get under that waterfall, and fast."

December blinked. Then she nodded. "Right," she said. "Can you stand?"

Kai hesitated, then shook his head. So Lloyd and December both leaned down and slipped their hands beneath Kai's arms, lifting him into the air. Once he got his footing he started walking away from the Spinjitzu training area, toward the door.

Shauto was there. He had felt it - could still feel it, pulsing inside him. His pace quickened.

I have to get to that waterfall.