Chapter 19

Movie Ninjago

"So what's up, Master Wu?" asked Luh-Loyd, all business when Wu joined them in the galley of the Bounty.

"I believe my sources have found a lead to whoever is controlling that Snake Mech," Master Wu replied, equally serious.

At his words, his students gasped, and broke into chatter, before Master Wu held up a hand to silence them. "Morro," he said to his son, indicating him to move forward.

Morro nodded and began handing out police reports and maps for them all to see, though their relevance wasn't immediately clear.

"So what are we looking at?" asked Nya curiously.

"A pattern," Wu replied. "One that's easy to miss if you are not looking for it."

"If there was one good thing Garmadon's constant attacks did for the city, it was his absorption of almost all criminals into his army," Morro said. "And any who refused or he just didn't like were beaten into submission and left for the cops to find. Thanks to that, aside from a few minor crimes, all the problems the city had came from him."

"Wait? Really?" asked Lil'Loyd.

"It's true," said Cole. "We never had to fight common criminals."

"Every bad guy we faced came from the volcano," Jay agreed. "Or were the Skulkin or SoG, which are still connected to Garmadon."

Lil'Loyd blinked. "Huh, didn't realize my world had more variety of bad guys," he said.

"Like what?" asked Kai.

Lil'Loyd began counting on his fingers, "Serpentine, resurrected pirates, evil clones, giant monsters-"

"ANYWAY!" said Morro loudly, cutting him off and getting back to the matter at hand. "We thought our only problems came from Garmadon, but we were wrong."

Luh-Loyd, who had been examining the papers and maps, began to see the pattern. "None of these have anything to do with my dad," he said in realization. "But they're all robberies to steal equipment needed to make a mech. And a tough one too, from the list of materials."

"The Snake Mech?" asked Lil'Loyd.

"Knowing our luck, probably," said Kai.

Nya, who was looking over a second stack of papers, piped up, "And these are all about extortion crimes," she said. "People being threatened into giving money or information."

"But Dad doesn't need stuff like that," said Luh-Loyd. "All his mech parts are mined and made in the volcano or were pillaged during his attacks, and he always just stole money if he needed it. And information gathering wasn't really his thing."

Master Wu nodded. "I also had Koko confirm it within my brother's records. While the crimes were made to look as though they were committed by Garmadon's men, they were in fact committed by imposters."

"Organized imposters," agreed Morro. "They'd have to be to pull off some of this stuff. Ones with a lot of pull to hide their crimes, and likely have eyes and ears everywhere."

Jay began to pale beneath his freckles. "Does this mean what I think it means? If so, don't tell me."

"We believe that there is a criminal organization in the city," said Wu solemnly. "And it has been hiding right beneath our noses." He then played the theme of the Godfather on his flute.

"I said don't tell me," Jay moaned, and Cole placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"But what does this have to do with the Serpentine?" the Earth Ninja asked. "Why go after a bunch of snakes in the desert and make them believe some old doomsday prophecy?"

"I can't be certain," said Master Wu. "But if I were to hazard a guess, I would assume it to be that the leader of this organization wants power."

"Well duh," said Lil'Loyd.

Luh-Loyd nodded in agreement. "I doubt it'd be anything else," he said dryly.

Morro snickered at their sass. "Cliches aside, part of that prophecy they told you said the Golden Master would steal those shiny magic weapons and become all-powerful. Sounds like a pretty tempting deal for any evildoer. If it wasn't so secret, I'm sure more would have tried to step up to the plate."

"And if those Golden Weapons are as powerful as the Serpentine and our counterparts have reported," added Master Wu, "then going against one who could wield them would be a challenge even for you."

"But you can't just pick them up and use them," Lil'Loyd protested. "The Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu are too powerful for almost anyone to use more than one at a time. Even my Uncle Wu never tried to use more than two. Aside from the First Spinjitzu Master, my dad's the only one who could. If anyone else tried to use all four weapons at once they'd get vaporized. Dad had to spend years doing weird stuff in the Underworld and grow extra arms just to pull it off."

"Wait, that's why he has four arms?" asked Nya.

"You mean he didn't originally?" asked Luh-Loyd.

"Nope, even after he transformed he just had the two," said Lil'Loyd. "It was freaky Underworld magic that gave him the extra ones. He needed them just to hold all four weapons anyway."

"It is hard to use that many weapons with only two hands," said Cole dryly.

Jay winced. "Yeah, and getting vaporized doesn't sound worth it," he said. "Who'd want ultimate power if you can only use it for one second before you get zapped."

"Maybe they figured out a way," said Kai, who had been looking over the mech supply crimes with his sister. "Or did what Sensei G did."

Morro snorted. "Yeah, that'll make finding the boss easier. Just look for someone not Uncle Garmadon with four arms."

Kai shot him a glare. "I don't see you coming up with any better ideas," he snapped.

Morro opened his mouth to retort, but Wu held up a hand to stop the bickering before it could start (much to the relief of everyone else).

"There is still much we do not know," the ninja master said. "But one thing is for certain. Our enemy is numerous, unknown, and has been five steps ahead of us since the start." His expression turned determined. "It is time we began to catch up."


Show Ninjago

Jay and Cole were beginning to get a little unnerved, and the source of their discomfort was the Nindroid perched behind them on the back of the dragon.

In the short time they'd known him, Pep Zane tended to live up to his name. He was always making a cheerful (if sometimes confusing or inappropriate) remark, asking questions, or saying something that emphasized how he was a 'normal teen'.

That wasn't the case this time. Instead, Pep was strangely silent and contemplative and really reminding them more of his counterpart than himself.

Never one to let an awkward silence linger, Jay said, "Hey, you holding up alright?"

Pep jerked like he was surprised, but replied, "Yes, I am holding onto the dragon with sufficient tightness. I will not fall off."

Cole and Jay traded wry looks. He was definitely Zane's counterpart.

"I meant are you okay," Jay corrected. "You've been pretty quiet."

Pep looked thoughtful as he reviewed his memories of the last few minutes. "So I have been. I apologize. The events on the beach have left me with much to think about."

"I get it," said Cole understandingly. "Seeing your friend get attacked like that is rough. Especially hearing it was from her family. Just know you can talk to us too if you want."

Pep blinked and then gave a small smile. "Thank you," he replied. "I appreciate that, but I'm afraid my counterpart is in the best position to advise me on this. If I have further questions on a different subject, I will keep you in mind."

The dragon landed outside the monastery and tea shop, and the three disembarked.

As they did, Kai stepped outside carrying light blue uniforms with goofy-looking teapot hats.

"You two are late," he said with a shark-like grin on his face and holding the uniforms out to them. "Sensei Wu says you two have an extra shift in the tea shop to make up for it."

Both Jay and Cole groaned at the sight of the clothing and looked reluctant to take them from Kai's hands.

"What are those?" asked Pep, eyeing the uniforms curiously.

Kai blinked, realizing the Nindroid was there. "Oh, hey Pep. They're our uniforms for working in the tea shop. They look dumb, but Sensei Wu insists we wear them."

Pep blinked and the sound of a camera shutter went off. "I see," he said. He then glanced at Jay and Cole. "I will be sure to inform Nya that you do, in fact, own more clothes."

"Please don't," Jay groaned, the outfits were lame enough on one world. They can't spread them to another too.

"Do I want to know?" asked Kai, looking confused.

"No," replied Jay and Cole dryly.

"Just try to wear something other than your ninja gi next time you go to the other Ninjago," added Cole.

Kai seemed to get some idea what they were talking about and nodded. "Gotcha."

"May I ask where Zen is?" asked Pep, drawing their attention back to him. "There is something I need to discuss with him."

"Sure," said Kai, pointing behind him. "He's in the river behind the monastery."

"You mean 'at' the river," Pep Zane corrected.

"Nope, in the river," said Kai. "He's practicing meditating and holding his breath again. Don't know why he still does that, it's not like either of you two need to breathe."

Pep winced and his entire body gave a violent jerk, and the other three remembered too late how much he hated even hinting at his robotic nature.

"Sorry," Kai quickly apologized, but Pep was already wheeling away towards where Zen Zane reportedly was at top speed.

"Nice going, Kai," said Jay sarcastically.

"Real sensitive," agreed Cole with equal sass.

Kai scowled and threw their tea shop uniforms in their faces. "Yeah, yeah, get to work."

As Pep Zane rounded the corner of the building, he shook his head and tried to do everything short of erasing his own memory to forget what Kai had just said. He hated deleting anything from his head. It made him feel less human.

… Which was half the problem he needed to talk to Zen about.

He reached the river and waterfall behind the tea shop and moved to where it was deepest. Sure enough, there beneath the clear rushing water was his counterpart sitting in a lotus position on the pebbly bottom.

As Pep stood puzzling about how to catch Zen Zane's attention, a splash in the water drew his eyes, and he saw Zen surface.

"I sensed you wanted to speak to me," he said as he climbed out of the river and began wringing the water out of his gi. "What seems to be the matter?"

"THE GIRL I LIKE IS A ROBOT!" Pep blurted out rapidly at top volume.

Zen Zane blinked at him, not expecting that. "Is that a problem?" he asked finally.

Caught off guard, Pep had to take a moment to formulate a response. "... No. But… I had no idea until I accidentally scanned her. She is very good at hiding it. Better than-" he broke off, and looked away.

"Better than you," said Zen knowingly.

Pep refused to look at him.

"Pep," said Zen gently. "What is really wrong? Why did finding this out upset you?"

Pep was silent for a moment, and then the word vomit began. "I really like this girl," he said. "But she's an android, but I still like her. Why is she an android? Is she like me? Does she want to be normal too? Should I ask? What if she hates me for finding out? I don't want her to hate me, I still really like her. But she's an android and I'm a normal teen. What if-"

Zen had to hold up his hands to stop the constant stream of questions before Pep talked himself in circles for eternity. Pep cut himself off immediately and looked at his counterpart with a lost expression.

Knowing his counterpart and little brother figure was counting on him, Zen Zane took a moment to process Pep's words before answering. Despite the numerous questions, one statement stuck out to him.

She's an android and I am a normal teen.

That… wasn't true.

"I do not understand, Pep. " Zen said slowly, "Why is it so important to be something we are not?"

Pep Zane jerked at his words. "I do not understand the question," he said immediately. "I am a normal teen."

There it was again.

With a sigh, Zen looked him firmly in the eyes, and replied, "No, Pep, we are not."

But Pep shook his head in denial. "Yes, I am!" he insisted, his voice rising in volume. "I am! I am! I am!"

Seeing that talking was getting nowhere, Zen Zane reached down and pried open the hatch on his chest, giving Pep a perfect view of the wires and switches inside.

Pep Zane could only stare at the undeniable proof that his counterpart was not human, his hands reaching up to cover his own clasp that would do the same.

Reaching out with a gentle hand on his shoulder, Zen said, "Pep, I am a Nindroid. This is a fact. I admit, I too was fearful of how my friends, my brothers, would react when I, myself, first discovered this information."

Pep looked at him curiously, and Zen elaborated. "As I've mentioned before, I had no idea of my true nature for a long time. It was not until I followed my falcon and found my father's old blueprints for me that I discovered it. Learning what I truly am… shocked me. I had always been considered odd by the others, but none of us ever suspected… On top of that, remembering my own past and my father not long after this revelation, it was an overwhelming day, to say the least."

"I would say so," agreed Pep softly. He couldn't imagine not knowing something so integral about himself and shuddered at the thought of ever forgetting his family.

"As my counterpart," said Zen, drawing his attention back to him, "you are also a Nindroid. It is an indisputable fact. Why are you so against that?"

Pep kept his hands firmly clamped over the clasp to his chest cavity and was silent for so long, Zen almost worried he'd broken him.

Finally, the blue-eyed Nindroid answered. "But… People hate androids," he said like he couldn't believe things could be otherwise. "It was one of the first things I ever saw. Androids being ripped apart, and people cheering for it. I cannot be a Nindroid because then everyone will hate me." He then ducked his head and added in his lowest volume setting, "I… could not stand it if my friends hated me."

Zen could only stare at him. What had his counterpart seen that had affected him so much?

This line of thinking was wrong, and he could not let it stand.

"You're wrong," said Zen Zane.

Pep Zane looked up at him in surprise.

"My friends all know I am a Nindroid," Zen continued, his voice even. "Kai, Cole, and Jay found me not long after my discovery of it. They were surprised, to say the least, to hear and see the truth." He then smiled fondly. "But once the surprise wore off, they were supportive and patient with me. Jay even coined the term 'Nindroid' for me, and it has stuck ever since. Seeing them accept me helped me accept myself."

Pep tried to picture himself and his friends in Zen's shoes. How would his own friends react to that?

Zen Zane then looked him in the eye and asked, "Do you believe they lied and actually hate me?"

Pep blinked at the question. It was more than clear to anyone who spent five minutes with the Ninja of that world that they were close. "No," he replied.

"And my brother, my Echo," said Zen. "Unlike me, his Nindroid nature is unhidden. There is no hiding what he is. And yet, have you seen anyone reject him for it?"

Pep slowly shook his head. Who could ever reject the sweet Echo of this world?

"And your own Echo," said Zen. "He does not try to hide what he is. He glows, he extends his limbs, he speaks without breathing, but does anyone resent him for it."

Pep's eyes widened at the idea of anyone hating his little brother, but… no one has. "No," he replied.

"And this girl you are infatuated with," said Zen. "You said yourself that you do not mind she is an android. Do you believe your friends will either?"

Pep thought a moment with a frown. While he could see some of them being a bit hurt she had kept the fact hidden from them, for the most part… "Outright rejection seems unlikely," he said.

"Then why on any Ninjago would you think your friends would hate you for this?" asked Zen Zane.

Pep remained silent for a long moment just processing this. Finally, he admitted, "... They wouldn't."

"No, they wouldn't," Zen concluded in agreement. "No one worth knowing would."

Pep's expression twisted. "But everyone will know!" He blurted out. "I've been lying about it for so long!"

"Pep... they already know," said Zen gently. "And trust me, they're fine with it. I think you might be the only one that isn't."

Pep was rendered silent at that, no doubt going through his memory banks and remembering every time he had done something inhuman in front of them or his friends subtly referenced his Nindroid abilities. Except for when he suspected they first figured it out, they had never argued with him when he insisted he was normal and instead had simply encouraged him to do what made him happiest.

They accepted him and just wanted him to be happy…

"Perhaps… my worries have been… irrational," Pep Zane admitted slowly as it all sank in for him. "I do not know why I fear this so much."

"In that way, you are a normal teen," said Zen with a small smile. "It is perfectly natural to worry what others will think so long as you do not let it rule your judgment." He added kindly, "You do not have to tell everyone if you are not comfortable with it, but with our friends, it couldn't hurt to be a little more honest."

Pep slowly nodded his head, the new information buzzing through his mind, and adjusting his world view along with it.

Seeming to sense this, Zen asked, "So, who are you?"

The answer formed in Pep's head, and he answered honestly, "I am Zane 'Pep' Julien. I am… I am a Nindroid, and I am here to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

With those words, nothing visibly changed, but there was a stir in the air like something important had happened.

Not seeming to notice this, Pep sent his counterpart a beaming smile and continued, "It is something I must tell my friends as soon as I can, as well as-"

He then broke off and glanced around Zen with a surprised expression.

Zen Zane followed his gaze and saw glimpses of silver and purple in the distance running up the steep, winding road that zigzagged around the mountain to the tea shop and monastery.

Recognizing the colors and realizing who it must be, Zen Zane's face broke into a smile. "Oh, it's Pixal," he said.

"Pixal?" asked Pep, looking like he both recognized the name and didn't at the same time. "Spelled P-I-X-A-L?"

Zen looked bewildered at the question of the spelling but shrugged it off. "Yes," he replied. "I'm afraid you are not the only one who has recently become infatuated. Come, you must meet her."

Zen began tugging him towards the tea shop where they could greet her, but Pep refused to budge and covered his eyes so he could not see any more of her encroaching figure on the path.

Lost as to what his counterpart was now doing, Zen asked, "Is something wrong?"

Pep resolutely turned away from the sight of the path, and said, "I believe I may know who you are referring to. However, if I am correct, I wish to see and hear it from Penny Trixie Allons first before confirming it here."

"Penny Trixie Allons?" asked Zen in confusion, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh," he said, his smile returning. "In that case, I will take you back to the Ultra Dragon so you may ask her directly."

"I appreciate that," said Pep, who still had his eyes closed, and had to be led blindly back to the dragon.

Zen watched fondly as his counterpart rode the dragon through a portal in the sky before turning to enter the tea shop.

He was eager to see Pixal again, and couldn't wait to hear why she had come.


A/N Well, in case you didn't notice, Pep Zane just got his true potential. It wasn't during a big fight, and Pep doesn't even realize it yet, but it has happened and that's what's important. He'll figure it out soon enough. It was something Kay Hau and I talked a lot about during planning. That it might be nice if instead of always gaining their powers in the middle of a fight, the Ninja Force could also potentially find their True Potential during a quiet moment of discussion. Since neither Freckles Jay nor Luh-Loyd glowed when they got their True Potential, Pep didn't get any visual cue he's got it, but it's there. He also realized who Pixal was due to Penny's asking if his name was an acronym and noticing hers could be acronymed to Pixal, for the same reason Zen caught on to what he meant too. As for the rest of the Ninja Force on Movie Ninjago, they at least know what kind of bad guys they're up against now, but still don't know it's specifically Chen.

Big thanks to Kay Hau for helping with this chapter. Some of the lines from the Zanes while Pep is getting his True Potential came from her. Specifically where Pep worries about his friends knowing and Zen says they already know and are fine with it. Again, a lot of planning for this wouldn't have happened without her help.

Next Time: Pixal finally reaches the Steep Wisdom to warn the Ninja, only to find a large problem in beating the Nindroids.

Don't forget to check your PM folder for Review Replies. Sorry I haven't replied to some of them from the last chapter yet. As I mentioned in the last Author's Note, I've been traveling, and couldn't get to them. I'll reply as soon as I can.