The Plague and The Pirates
Chapter 24 : The Young Ninja's Vehicles
ItsYoGreenGirl : It is true when you say that Fear is a powerful thing, and the Mask and the Capabilities it has, and the Problems it's already caused, are no exception, and you are right when you say nobody makes it out alive in the end, but that's the part of life that scares Alex the most, and yes, Nya's strive to find out what Alex is hiding is important to her, since it's related to Eric, but what Nya needs to realize, is Alex isn't the only one who harbors such secrets.
Previously on The Plague and The Pirates : The Young Ninjas head into School, and in the 1st/2nd Grade Class, Mr. Collin asks Nina where her brother was, before she tells them that Eric's dead, and in 3rd Grade, Felicia tells her classmates the same thing, and Alex and Hazel could do nothing but bite their tongues, while at the Monastery, Pixal and Master Wu tell the others about their old Vehicles being restores, so the kids could use them, and Brenden talks about his strange past, and the others talk about where and what they've done with new allies and vehicles over the years, Meanwhile during 3rd Recess, Alex and Clayton beat Chad at basketball, and Chad made the mistake of holding Alex's favorite food in his hand, as she used her Arctic Fox animal form, and ate the Peanut Butter, and Clayton soon did the same, and it made Alex happy that Clayton was finally the big brother she wanted him to be, and the end of the day comes, and the others come to take the kids to the Monastery, but regardless of what Akita says, Nya showed up at the school, with Jay and Nina worrying on why Nya's trying to find her so much.
What Happens Next?
Find Out Now!
September 16th, 4:25 p.m.
The Young Ninja are at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, where they all walked up the Mountain of Impossible Height to reach.
Princess Lydia : Why did my Great Uncle have to rebuild the Monastery right where it was burned down, I mean I know it made sense, but this Mountain is incredibly annoying.
Richard : Yea, we should have used the Bounty.
Charlie : Or my ship, since I still have it.
Nina : Where is it Charlie?
Charlie : The Coast of Ignacia, I left it docked there, since I didn't want to leave it in a shifty place like the docks, those abandoned factories and warehouses are way too shift for my liking.
Felicia : Not to mention that's where we were held captive by the Sons of Garmadon.
Princess Lydia : And where I was turned into a snake, and while a ruse, inducted into the Sons of Garmadon, and again Charlie, I'm sorry.
Charlie : Lydia, you have nothing to be sorry for.
Lydia smiled at Charlie and Xavier knocked on the door of the Monastery.
Xavier : Hello, Mom?!
Pixal opened the door, and saw the kids, and they were all wearing their Training Robes.
Pixal : There you kids are, expected you sooner.
Prince Zach : Would have been here sooner if it wasn't for this stupid Mountain of Impossible Height.
Via : Which one's bigger anyway, Mountain of Impossible Height, Mountain of a Million Steps, or The Wailing Alps?
Lucas : Eh, not important.
The kids walked inside the Monastery and they followed Pixal and Master Wu.
Master Wu : Hello kids.
Princess Lydia : Hi Uncle Wu.
Master Wu : Hi, Lydia.
Charlie : Care to tell us why we're here?
Pixal : You'll see.
The kids were led into the elevator to the Samurai X Cave, and they started going down.
Princess Alex : Have you guys ever been in the Samurai X Cave before?
Xavier : Nope.
Pixal : I'm surprised you actually came Alex.
Princess Alex : My Daddy and Liv both showed me that even through my fears, I'll be okay if I have those who will stand beside me no matter who I am.
Clayton held Alex's hand, and she smiled at him.
Pixal : I will say, the blue lipstick suits you.
Princess Alex : Thank you.
Clayton : So does the white dress, which again the sparkly blue and yellow accents at the bottom is amazing, also the yellow and blue hair flowers, which look good on her regardless of what she's wearing.
Alex smile at Clayton, and she could understand what he meant, since the blue and yellow flowers in Alex's hair, she liked wearing regardless, even with her Ninja Suit, which is what she was wearing right now
The Elevator stopped, and the kids walked into the Samurai X Cave.
Princess Lydia : Uncle Wu.
Master Wu : Yes, Lydia?
Princess Lydia : How long did our parents live at the Monastery anyway?
Master Wu : I'm not sure, I believe almost four years, but over their entire ninja days, they lived together for nine.
Princess Lydia : Okay.
Master Wu : I assure your parents have told you guys about their Vehicles.
Nina : Yea, my Mom never seemed to stop talking about her time as the first Samurai X-
Xavier : Before my Mom took that job, and now Hazel's taking it.
Richard : What?
Hazel : He's right, just before Cyrus Borg rebuilt me, Xavier wanted me to become the Next Samurai X, because I wanted to be a valued member of the team, since I'm not a Ninja, or an Elemental Master, I wanted to become somebody that can help the best in their own ways, and who idolized that better than Pixal during her times as Samurai X 2.0.
Pixal : Excellent Observation, Hazel.
Hazel : Thank you.
Felicia : Then there was the Ultra Stealth Raider.
Nina : If that thing is fixed, I call dibs on the Super Sonic Raider Jet.
Pixal : Nina, your parents talked about how you would call dibs on that thing.
The kids stopped in the middle of the Samurai X Cave, and Master Wu and Pixal went over to the Curtains?
Prince Zach : What's going on?
Master Wu : You'll see, Pixal, now!
Pixal and Master Wu let the curtains drop, and the Young Ninjas saw all of the Vehicles.
The Ultra Stealth Raider, The Mech-Jet, The Racing Bike, The Ninja Tuner Car, The Flying Speeder, The Fire Mech, The ShuriCopter, Samurai X Mech, The Rock Roader Lloyd's Nightcrawler, The X-1 Ninja Charger, The Electro Mech, The Destiny's Shadow, The Katana 4x4, The Earth Driller, and The Titan Mech.
Richard : Whoa.
Nina : Wow.
Xavier : Amazing.
Prince Zach : Incredible.
Princess Alex : Awesome.
Pixal : We rebuilt most of your parents Old Vehicles, and it seemed like you kids would need other modes of transport besides Charlie's Ship, or your dragons.
Master Wu : Also, each one of the Vehicles has been made for a specific person.
Pixal : Well, some of them get more than one Vehicle, but you get the point.
Richard : So who's is which?
Pixal : Well The Ultra Stealth Raider, since it's technically four Vehicles that can disconnect from one and other, the bikes are Zach and Via's, the Jet is Nina's, and the car is Richard's.
Charlie : Okay.
Pixal : The Mech-Jet is Charlie's, The Racing Bike is Lydia's, The Ninja Tuner Car was supposed to be for Eric, but we can work that out later, The Flying Speeder is for Alex, The Fire Mech is Felicia's, The ShuriCopter is Xavier's, The Samurai X Mech is Hazel's-
Clayton : Shocking.
Pixal : All of you can use The Land Bounty, since I made it bigger, Lloyd's Nightcrawler is Lydia's, The X-1 Ninja Charger was painted Silver and Gray for Clayton, The Electro Mech is Nina's, The Rock Roader is Siddie's, once we get her back, and so is the Earth Driller, The Destiny's Shadow is Lydia's, and The Katana 4x4 was painted Red and Green for Lucas, and that's it.
Charlie : Awesome.
Richard : So seven of these vehicles can fly, nice.
Princess Alex : Just seeing that thing makes me wanna get into it an go on a joyride.
Charlie : You're not the only one.
The Flying Speeder and The Mech-Jet just sitting on the platforms were driving Alex and Charlie crazy.
Pixal : I made the Vehicles controls and weapon systems much easier to understand now, so you kids shouldn't have any problems, they still have the manuals, but they're only about 6 pages long, since they're easy to understand.
Just then, Brenden walked into the Samurai X Cave, and saw the kids on the platforms on both sides of the Cave, admiring the vehicles.
Brenden : Those kids are gonna have fun with these things.
Pixal : Yea.
Alex was looking at The Flying Speeder when she saw Brenden talking to Master Wu and Pixal and she was walking over to him.
When Alex was like 10 feet away, she stopped, and looked at her father.
Pixal : Brenden.
Brenden : Yea?
Pixal : Look.
Brenden looked at Alex, and just as he did, she jumped into his arms, and hugged him.
Brenden : Ha, Hi Alex.
Princess Alex : Hi, Daddy.
Brenden : So I'm guessing your day is alright?
Princess Alex : Yea, what are you doing here though.
Brenden : I got here like 5 minutes ago, I would say I was only 10 minutes ahead of Nya, I saw her car park near the start of the Mountain, so she's coming.
Nina : She knows Alex is here?
Brenden : Apparently.
Princess Alex : Well now what then, I'm already freaking out about Nya, but there's no way out of here.
Brenden : No, there is a way. . . Pixal open the door.
Pixal pressed a button on the Samurai X Computer, and it opened a door on the end of the cave, where outside, it was on the side of the Mountain, with nothing but Clear skies.
Brenden : Alex, take the Flying Speeder and get out here.
Just then, the console near the platform turned on.
Xavier : Mom, somebody called the elevator.
Richard : Pixal, turn it off.
Pixal turned off the elevator request.
Pixal : I stopped it, but it's safe to assume Nya knows where we are.
Prince Zach : What do we do?
Clayton : Get Alex out of here.
Brenden hugged Alex, and let her down, and she went over to The Flying Speeder.
Alex got into the Speeder and started it, and the jet hovered above the platform.
Charlie : Alex, you want me to go with you?
Princess Alex : No, I'll be okay.
Clayton : Just be careful, sis.
Princess Alex : I will, and I'll get the hang on this thing after a few minutes.
Just then, the elevator made a ding sound.
Brenden : Sweetie, go, now!
Alex started the jet, and it powered up, and flew straight through the huge tunnel, and out of the Cave.
The doors to the tunnel closed, and Nya walked out of the elevator.
Nina : Mom, what are you doing here?
Brenden : If you say you're still looking for Alex, she's not here.
Nya : How does she keep getting away.
Clayton : How do you keep finding out where she is?
Prince Zach : And why won't you stop following her, Our parents told you, Jay told you, Nina told you, it's time you suck it up, and stop it.
Nina : They're right Mom, the more you keep doing this, the more Alex will keep running, give her a break.
Nya : I just want to know what she keeps doing outside Ninjago City.
Via : We all do, but we won't know, and she won't be brave enough to tell us, if you keep chasing her.
Nya : The Plague Doctor better make an attack soon, if Alex is ever gonna show herself, it'll be then. . .
Meanwhile in the skies above Ninjago.
Alex was in The Flying Speeder, flying above Ninjago and looking at the view when her phone went off, and she put on her commset.
Princess Alex : Hello?
Eric : Hey Alex.
Princess Alex : Hi, Eric.
Eric : Are you alright.
Princess Alex : Your Mom almost caught me, again!
Eric : This'll be over soon Alex, where are you?
Princess Alex : Flying away from The Monastery
Eric : Flying?
Princess Alex : You remember your dad's story about The Prime Empire, when he had a vehicle called The Flying Speeder?
Eric : Yea.
Princess Alex : His friend Scott rebuilt it, and it's mine now.
Eric : You gotta bring that thing to The Formlings' Princess.
Princess Alex : Oh I am, this thing is sick.
20 Minutes Later.
Alex reached the ship, and landed The Flying Speeder on the deck, and everybody was looking at it.
Liv : Alex, that is amazing.
Princess Alex : Thank you, hopefully sometime I can say thank you to Scott.
Liv : The Mechanic we met from Prime Empire?
Princess Alex : Yea, he's the one who rebuilt this thing, Charlie got the Mech-Jet, Lydia got The Racing Bike, and Eric was supposed to get the Ninja Tuner Car.
Eric : Aw man, that thing is sick.
Princess Alex : I still don't know much about this thing though.
Hazel : You usually just need somebody to teach or show you.
Princess Alex : Who?
Eric : I know somebody, since I've seen her race on Route 23.
Liv : Racer Seven?
Eric : Yep.
Princess Alex : Do you know where she is?
Liv : She heads to the Noodle House after every race, and they hold races each Friday, whether it's Road Racing, Dirt Tracks, Cross Country, Drag Strips, Street Scenes, you name it, she races it.
Princess Alex : I thought Street Scenes were illegal.
Liv : They are, she's been arrested once before because of it, now she just heads to the races to help catch those drivers.
Princess Alex : Since a few of the Sons of Garmadon are still out there, how much you wanna guess that's who she's been racing against?
Harmony : Makes sense, those bikers are nuts.
Princess Alex : Though I feel Lydia would be in her element during Races, because her bike can work on almost any terrain, all she has to worry about is the wheels.
Liv : Fair point.
Princess Alex : Do you know what races they are doing right now?
Eric : It's 5:00 now.
Harmony : And it's September 16th, so right now is the Road Racing part of the season.
Landon : That means they should be riding from Main Street of Ninjago City to the jump at the end of Route 23.
Eric : They actually made Route 24 to go around that whole mess, because of "Racing Purposes", the Ninjago Association for Superior Car Auto Racing, purchased Route 23, and have made Racing into an extremely popular sport in Ninjago, believe it or not, they made a "Junior" version of their events, and have televised them, they have the professional drivers be the kids' mentors.
Princess Alex : Do you know where I can find her?
Liv : Landon's right though, it's the Ninjago City 350, The Finish Line is past the jump at Route 23.
Princess Alex : I guess that's where I am going, I am glad Scott added a feature for wheels to appear on this thing, so I'll just drive when I get down there.
Eric : Yea, and I will say Alex, It's nice to see you wearing the Training Robes again, they never stop reminding me of my mothers, since yours are the same, only there's no golden dragon, and the colors are Light-Blue and Royal Yellow, rather than Maroon and Azure.
Princess Alex : I got it Eric, I know what I am doing.
Eric : Okay, I'll see ya in a bit then.
Alex playfully saluted Eric and smiled at him, before she started The Flying Speeder, and started flying towards Ninjago City.
Harmony : How old is Racer Seven anyway?
Liv : 40, three years older than myself, and Lloyd.
Eric : Has she enjoyed being out of The Prime Empire?
Liv : In 2033, they shut the servers to the game down, and recalled all the machines, since the game couldn't run anymore, but they got everybody out of the game before deactivating it, except for The Red Visors and Whack Rats.
Harmony : Maybe that's why Alex talked about hearing there was going to be a sequel to Prime Empire.
Eric : Oh there is, it's called "Prime Empire 2 : The Virus", though nobody knows why The Virus is it's meaningful name.
Liv : Did they say when the game is being released?
Eric : May 23rd, 2045.
Liv : That's Lydia's 7th Birthday.
Eric, Harmony, Liv, and Landon : Oh boy. . .
Eric : I think my sister is feeling better than I am.
Meanwhile outside Ninjago City, 10 Minutes Later. . .
The Young Ninjas were trying their Vehicles, outside the City, when Cole and Opal called them, so they were heading back towards the City, from The Sea of Sand.
Felicia : Man, these things are awesome!
Nina : I think it's sad you guys are worrying about the Sand slowing you down.
Princess Lydia : I still don't understand how you got the Super Sonic Raider Jet.
Nina : Uh, Because I called dibs!
Charlie : Cus, you aren't the only one flying!
And he was right, Xavier was in The ShuriCopter, Charlie was using his Mech-Jet, and Felicia was in the Fire Mech, since Pixal added jets to it so the Mech could fly.
Lydia was in The Nightcrawler, Clayton was in the X-1 Ninja Charger ( Which was the Car that Kai had used in Episode 32 : Codename Arcturus ) and the car was repainted Gray and Silver, Lucas was using the Katana 4x4, since Pixal painted parts of the Car green, since Red and Green were the colors of Lucas' Powers, and Zach, Via and Richard were using the Bikes and Car that made up the Ultra Stealth Raider, since Nina was using the Jet.
Nina : What do you guys think Scott and my Mom are gonna do with the Ninja Tuner Car?
Charlie : Why do you ask?
Nina : Because it was supposed to be Eric's Car, and he's gone.
Princess Lydia : Even I'm going to say that I'm starting to believe what Nya's saying, Alex hiding from Nya, and only not being afraid of Clayton right now, makes me think that she knows more than she dares to say.
Clayton : You think Eric's alive too?
Princess Lydia : A possibility.
Prince Zach : But not a certainty cousin, remember that.
Nina : Well if my brother is alive, I need to find him.
Princess Lydia : You think either of my aunts know?
Felicia : Akita and Liv?
Princess Lydia : Yea, they both keep defending Alex's strange behavior, I don't know if it's suspicious or unsettling.
Via : What's Alex doing right now anyway?
Prince Zach : Who knows, she just left the Monastery with her jet once she saw Nya was coming, who knows what she's doing.
Clayton : Should I call her?
Princess Lydia : Perhaps, just to see if she's okay.
Clayton then turns on this commset on a private channel, so he could talk to his sister alone.
Meanwhile in Ninjago City.
Since Alex figured she might have come across her friends or perhaps Nya and Jay, since they both worked in the city, she walked out of a clothing store, and was wearing clothes similar to Jay and Lloyd's Avatars.
Alex's "Avatar" had many similarities to Lloyd's, as it had the jacket that was unzipped except it was Light-Blue, slightly darker blue tight pants that went up to her waist and Alex also had a silver chest plate that covered the top half of her chest, from her neck, to the bottom of her ribcage, leaving the lower half from the middle of her body, to her waist exposed, and the right sleeve, boots, and even a few small strands of Alex's hair were Silver, and Alex's left glove was yellow, and the right was black, and Alex's Jacket had a yellow triangular pattern on the light blue sleeve, and around the bottom of the jacket, and her tights had the same pattern and they went down from the middle of her tights, to her silver boots, and she had a yellow headband, similar to the one Jay had on his avatar, only her hair was over the headband, rather than beneath it, and Alex also had the light blue cloth used to cover her mouth to disguise herself better and it was simply wrapped around her neck when she wasn't wearing it so she could speak better, just like how Lloyd had his, and she still had the Light-Blue and Royal Yellow flowers in her hair, but only 2 blue ones, and one was yellow, she put away the others, Alex also moved her hair so she had the light yellow bow on her braid at the back of her hair, and at the end of her hair where the strands were with the flowers, she put in front of her right shoulder, rather than behind it, and put on silver lipstick.
Alex looked towards the Highway, and saw The Race was going on, and she planned to head to the Start/Finish line at Route 23, which was almost 1 mile after the jump.
Princess Alex : I really hope she can help Me.
Alex started The Flying Speeder and flew it into the air, when her phone went off, and she put on her commset.
Princess Alex : Hello?
Clayton : Hey sis.
Princess Alex : What is it, Clayton?
Clayton : Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, since I did not hear from you after you left the Monastery.
Princess Alex : I am fine, I am in Ninjago City.
Clayton : Why?
Princess Alex : No reason, I just stopped here to catch my breath, after I was sure Nya did not try to follow me.
Clayton : Okay, well If you need me, just call back.
Princess Alex : I will.
Alex ended the call and landed the Flying Speeder, and activated the wheels, so she could drive the jet on the ground.
Princess Alex : Man, I really owe Scott, Nya, and Pixal for this.
Alex put on her cloth face mask, and pushed one of the buttons which put up the Roll Cage, so nobody could see who she was.
Alex reached the entrance to the bleachers and parked her Jet, but she kept the remote with her if she needed to call it, and she walked towards the entrance.
And she saw there were people standing there with what seemed like Red Visors, and they looked like animals.
She took off her mask, and left it wrapped around her neck, as she tried to speak to them
Princess Alex : Um, hello?
Person : Beat it child, unless you have an adult or a ticket you can scram.
Princess Alex : But. . .
Person 2 : Scram hooligan!
Alex backed away, and she smiled and got an idea, as she asked them something.
Princess Alex : So are you guys Security Guards or something?
Person : You could say that, the names Ritchie, leader of the Whack Rats, greatest Racing Team ever in Prime Empire and Ninjago!
Alex gasped a small bit, because she thought when she was flying away, she heard Liv say they were left behind in Prime Empire.
Princess Alex : Does that give you the ability to arrest somebody for doing something illegal on the track or near it?
Ritchie : Yes.
Princess Alex : Don't you have something better to do, three people are getting mugged, right over there!
Alex pointed and three people looked like they were shoving each other and they walked around the corner of the wall.
Ritchie : Good catch!
Ritchie and his minion walked over around the corner and saw it was three teenagers.
Princess Alex : Yes!
Alex pulled on her mask, and ran inside, just as Ritchie and his minion walked back over
Ritchie : There was no-
Person 2 : Hello?
Ritchie : Eh, it was probably nothing.
Person 2 : What is she ran inside?
Ritchie : Then let's go find out.
Ritchie and his Minion walked inside, to see if Alex went in there.
2 Minutes Later, Alex reached the bleachers, and she walked to the railing. . .
and took of her mask.
Princess Alex : Holy smoke.
Announcer : You are all watching The Ninjago City 350, one of the most awesome and perhaps freaky and dangerous road races in Ninjago!
Princess Alex : Whoa.
Alex saw drivers getting thrown off the track, since there's weren't barriers, and they were landing in the "Crash Lake" beneath the highway, which was where all the cars landed, and it was actually a lake that turned into a river which led into Ninjago Harbor.
Alex turned and saw Nelson standing next to her.
Princess Alex : Hello, Purple Ninja.
Nelson : Oh, hi Alex, what're you doing here?
Princess Alex : Came to check out the Race, you?
Nelson : Same here, and here they come, I can see them from here!
Alex looked and saw the drivers coming, and she saw a truck with a wrecking ball, and a car that looked similar to Lydia's Nightcrawler jumped over it and was driving very fast.
The huge truck dropped a few "bombs" on the track, and they blew three of the cars off.
Announcer : Two teams are out and we have three remaining, and in the lead, here come The Whack Rats!
Princess Alex : Whack Rats?
Nelson : They were the best Racing Team in the Prime Empire, until the Ninja beat them that is.
Alex looked over, and saw Richie in one of the Cars ( Also, Ritchie and Richie are two different people, or Rats to be more descriptive ), and he had a Molotov in his hand.
The Dark Green Car had a female driver and she looked over at Richie.
Richie : Easier to let it burn, Racer!
Person : Yea, I agree!
Richie threw the Molotov and the driver hit the brake to let it miss, and slammed the gas to hit Richie's Teammate off the track.
Princess Alex : Wow, who's that driver?
Nelson : That's Racer Seven, she's been driving for 24 years, never seems to make it to the finish line of the Road Races though, I highly doubt today will be her lucky day either.
At first Alex was confused, then she remembered that Racer Seven was part of Prime Empire before she was released, and she remembered from the story that Lloyd told her, that Seven was 16 years old at the time.
Princess Alex : So that's Racer Seven, huh?
Just then, Richie presses a button on his Car, and three rockets appear, and he opens fire.
Racer Seven : What?!
The rockets hit directly in front of her, blinding her before Richie comes up and brutally slams her car into the wall, and she did about 3 barrel rolls along the Asphalt and the Car made a brutal crash on it's hood, and there was smoke coming out of it.
Princess Alex : Whoa.
Seven climbed out of her Car, and hit it in anger.
Racer Seven : Ugh, Come on!
She took off her helmet and threw it at the bleachers, as she fell to her knees in sadness.
Racer Seven : No!
The helmet barely missed Nelson and it hit the guy behind him, and Alex picked it up.
Princess Alex : Racer Seven. . .
Just then The Whack Rats appeared.
Ritchie : Hey, you, Freeze!
Princess Alex : Oh No!
Alex looked at the stairs but saw The Red Visors standing there, and saw The Whack Rats on her left side, and she started running.
Ritchie : Hey, Stop right there!
Princess Alex : Oh, Come on!
Seven looked up, and saw a little girl running with something of hers.
Racer Seven : My helmet!
Alex saw more Red Visors in front of her, above her, and behind her, so she had an idea with the Metal Helmet in her hands.
Princess Alex : Alright, screw it!
Alex began throwing the helmet at the Red Visors, and The Whack Rats, and it knocked them down since the helmet had spikes on the top, and she used her powers to slow down their Laser Guns.
Alex then pressed a button on her remote and her Flying Speeder appeared on the track, about a tenth of a mile from her, and it was driving her way.
The Whack Rats started firing Lasers at Alex, and she climbed the bleachers to run away, as the civilians started panicking.
Another set of Red Visors came out of an entrance to the bleachers and Alex jumped over them.
Princess Alex : *Grunt*
Alex was standing on one of the huge lights that stood across one side of the road to the other, and the Red Visors tried surrounding her on both sides.
Alex looked down and saw her Flying Speeder coming towards her on the Race Track, and she jumped off the "bridge light", but as she did she saw something Golden and it shined against the sunlight, and she Landed in the driver seat, and she turned on the jets, and flew away from the track into a tunnel, after exiting the track. . .
Alex parked the Jet, and took off running into an alleyway.
Just then, somebody saw her run, and she had a curious look on her face.
Person : Who was that?
Meanwhile, at The Monastery of Spinjitzu. . .
The Young Ninjas were back at The Samurai X Cave, modifying their Vehicles with Pixal, Brenden, and Master Wu.
Brenden : So what did you kids think?
Prince Zach : Cool.
Nina : Amazing
Princess Lydia : Totally Awesome.
Felicia : Stupendous.
Charlie : Infinitely Spectacular.
Pixal : You kids are trying to one up each other aren't you?
Charlie : Yea pretty much
Everybody laughed at what Charlie had said, since he was right.
Just then the Computer went off, and Xavier went to see it.
Xavier : Mom, you might wanna see this.
Pixal : What is it?
Xavier : Today's Road Race, The Ninjago City 350, it was attacked.
Charlie : By who?
Pixal : Let me see.
Pixal turned on the footage, and the kids were watching it.
They saw guys wearing holographic red and black helmets and visors, and were firing Laser Guns, and a girl wearing Light-Blue and Silver Clothes was attacking them, and running with some sort of helmet in her hands.
Because of the new clothes and the face mask, and even the strands of silver hair, they couldn't tell it was Alex, but they knew who was attacking her.
Nina : The Red Visors and The Whack Rats?!
Master Wu : How did they escape The Prime Empire?!
Felicia : Good Question.
Nina : I know somebody who knows the right man.
Via : Who?
Nina : My Dad, at this sort of thing, is Influence reaches far and wide, if anybody's gonna know this, it'll be Dyer and Unagami.
Pixal : Good idea Nina, I'll get Jay on the phone.
Xavier : Mom, should we check it out?
Pixal : The Race was almost over anyway Xavier, and that footage just stopped so there isn't a whole lot to go by, so leave it for now, we don't want to lose focus on The Plague Doctor.
Xavier : Understood.
Richard : Don't want to lose focus on Saving Siddie either.
Lydia and Charlie nodded and the kids went back to fixing their vehicles.
Meanwhile at the Autobody Shop
Since Nya had her part-time job there when she was a teenager, the company who owned the shop had greatly expanded it, and they could fit up to 8 Cars in the Mechanic's Garage at a time.
In Section 5, Racer Seven was with Nya and Scott, and they were fixing her Car.
Racer Seven : Guys, thanks again for helping me with this.
Nya : Of Course, you helped us greatly in Prime Empire, and one thing I like about me being a Mechanic and you still living to your race days, I get to fix your car often, not sure why though.
Racer Seven : Because my team never fixes the Car fast enough, so either I'm stuck in the Garage for half the next race, or I'm out, so I bring the Car to some people I know can really fix it fast, and fix it well.
Scott : No argument there, though I would enjoy your presence more if you didn't get my Garage ambushed.
Racer Seven : I didn't know, though today was weird.
Nya : How come, Seven?
Racer Seven : After I crashed, I threw my helmet at the bleachers in anger, and somebody caught my helmet and ran off with it, just as The Red Visors and Whack Rats started shooting at her.
Nya : Wait, The Red Visors?
Scott : Whack Rats?!
Racer Seven : Yea, they've been around the Association for a while, though I have no idea how they escaped Prime Empire since they shut the servers down 10 years ago.
Nya : That's worrying, what happened to your helmet, or the girl?
Racer Seven : Gone, and ran off, I don't know who she was, or what she was doing with my helmet, she just used it to take out the idiots up there, and she left the track with it, though I have no clue where she is, or what she's doing, but I need my helmet back, I should have listened to Scott when he said to put a tracker on it.
Scott : Yea.
Racer Seven : I'm starting to get annoyed, over the past 14 years, I haven't been able to win the Road Races, not the Cup, or a single race in that part of the sport, I always crash when there's less than 3 laps left of the Race.
Nya : Same spot?
Racer Seven : No.
Scott : Programming?
Racer Seven : No Scott, I'm not a Video Game Character anymore, I'm my own girl, and I've been given the greatest gift anybody could have thanks to Lloyd, Jay, Kai, Cole, and you two.
Nya smiled and slightly blushed at Seven's Compliment.
Nya : What's that?
Racer Seven : The Freedom to think and act for ourselves, and choose who we are, and what we do, me winning The Speedway 5000000000, I did that, not the Programming, not the Whack Rats, not the Ballistic Missiles, not Supersonic, it was all Me, and I chose what to do, and chose 24 years ago today who I decided to become, and that was who I already was made to be, One of the Greatest Racers in Ninjago.
Scott : Very well put, Seven.
Nya : Yea.
Racer Seven : Well, the Prime Empire "Escapists" are working on fixing the race track, so I'm off to the Noodle House.
Nya : Alright, It'll take us a while to fix this anyway.
Scott : How many races are left?
Racer Seven : Before the Road Racing Playoffs?
Scott : Yea.
Racer Seven : Three, The Ignacia 375, The Forest 499, and The Royal Palace 600, which is the technically the biggest race of the series, though the most popular races are always The Junkyard 400, and The Young Ninja 500.
Nya : They actually renamed the first race of the Season?
Racer Seven : Yea they did, since they wanted to honor The Young Ninja as the next protectors of Ninjago, that and since they made the Junior version of this series, I have a feeling the kids would be interested in Racing, especially since the winner of the Junior Series, gets a walk on spot in the League with the rest of the drivers, with whichever driver who chose them as their Mentor.
Nya : Are you one of them?
Racer Seven : Yea, and I even won the Championship two years ago, even with only winning one race, which was the Dirt Race at Crashcourse Canyon.
Scott : Oh, The Crashcourse 400?
Racer Seven : Yep, and for that, I get to choose two kids.
Nya : Who you gonna choose?
Racer Seven : I'm still not sure, I have thought about The Formlings' Princess though, that young kid has so much potential, and seems to have several opinions or ideas on what she wants to do with herself, and for that, I wanna help her see if this idea, is one she wants to pursuit.
Nya : The second?
Racer Seven : Haven't thought about, but I'm gonna head to the Noodle House, I'll see you guys later.
Nya : Alright.
Scott : Bye.
Seven left the Mechanics in the Garage so she could head to the Noodle House, and Nya and Scott could work on the Car.
By now, Scott was 41 Years Old, and most of his friends and parents died when he reached his mid-20's, mostly because he was trapped in Prime Empire for 30 years without aging, because it was a Video Game.
Meanwhile at the Monastery, 40 minutes later. . .
The Young Ninjas were still in the Samurai X Cave, modifying their vehicles. . .
Kai, Nya, Scott, Jay, Lloyd, Harumi, Cole, and Zane finished working, and they came back to the Monastery to see how the kids were doing.
Scott : I find it amazing that the kids seem to like the vehicles from The Prime Empire.
Jay : I'm surprised you managed to recreate them Scott.
Scott : Somethings are worth fighting for, and it my case, it's awesome rides.
Charlie : Mine is certainly awesome.
Princess Lydia : I haven't even tried the Racing Bike yet.
Lloyd : Seeing these things reminds me of The Speedway 5000000000, helping Seven break her programming to win the Yellow Keytana is something I won't forget.
Scott : I head to the races every now and then to see her drive, far better driver from her Prime Empire days, at least until two years ago.
Jay : What's going on?
Scott : Every Road Race, when there's only 3 to go, she crashes on the 6th turn of each track, and today's race was even more concerning.
Lloyd : Why?
Nya : Seven came to the Mechanic's Shop to get her Car fixed, well, again, and she said she saw The Whack Rats and The Red Visors there.
Kai, Jay, Cole, and Lloyd : What?!
Scott : You heard us.
Just then, a phone call was appearing on the Samurai X Computer and everybody went to answer it.
Richard : It's Siddie.
Cole : Well don't just stand there, answer it!
Pixal answered the call, and the screen showed Siddie sitting on a cell on the Zeppelin, and she kept looking to her right to see if anybody was coming. . .
Nya : Siddie.
Nina : You're okay.
Annoyed, Siddie whisper-shouted at her friends.
Siddie : Will you keep your voices down!
Cole : Sweetie, where are you?
Siddie : On a huge Zeppelin in Rubble Grove, The Plague Doctor is planning to to slowly fly it across Ninjago and spread his virus.
Kai : How?
Siddie : Like I said, Zeppelin, he's gonna fly directly above Ninjago and spray it all over the place, but good luck getting onto the Zeppelin, let alone bring it down.
Cole : Why Siddie?
Siddie : Daddy, this thing is made of Deepstone and Chronosteel, you'd need a lot of rounds or lasers just to make a hole in this thing, not to mention on the sides, top, and bottom of the Zeppelin they've added turrets to hold back enemies.
Nina : Well we're not gonna just leave you there.
Siddie : I'm not saying that, but with how heavily armored and slow this thing is in the air, you guys will need vehicles that can fly just to get up here.
Scott : Flying Vehicles, that isn't the problem, it's their driving skills that is.
Young Ninjas : Hey!
Scott : Don't look at me like that, you kids are 6-8 years old, and just got these sick things today, what makes you think that you can drive that well.
Charlie : I could always use my ship, since that thing flies.
Brenden : Charlie, that's actually not a bad idea.
Charlie : Really?
Cole : I see where he's going, we can get word to Paul and Mary, if anybody's gonna be able to help us, it'll be the Forces of Fort Lexington.
Empress Harumi : I'll get on that.
Brenden : Thanks, sis.
Because they were talking to Siddie, the others didn't hear the Samurai X Cave's tunnel open and close, and a Jet came inside, and was slowly flying towards the landed platform with the rest of the vehicles.
Cole : I can also get word to the Commissioner, and he can send his Choppers into the air.
Siddie : That still may not be enough, The Plague Doctor has small Airships and armed Cargo Helicopters flying around the Zeppelin to protect it, you'll need to bring them all or most of them down just to get close to the Zeppelin let alone within reach of it's defenses.
Kai : Siddie, when is his plan being put into action?
Siddie : At 8:45 p.m. tomorrow, they're still fueling this thing, and it's gonna take almost an hour, just for it to reach the clouds.
Nya : Wow, that is slow.
Siddie : And the New Vehicles will the best chance against The Zeppelin, so make sure people who are good at driving are using them.
Cole : Wait wait wait, wait, and wait, how did you know about the vehicles?
Siddie : Liv told me.
Nya and Jay : Of course she did.
Siddie : The Plague Doctor's coming, I have to go.
Cole : I'll get you back Siddie, I promise.
Siddie : I know you will, just hurry.
Cole : I'm not going to forget you.
Siddie : I love you Daddy.
Cole : I love you too.
Siddie ends the call and leaves the others in thought.
Nina : So now what?
Richard : We prepare for The Plague Doctor's last stand.
Jay : The Plague Doctor's going to start his attack at dusk, tomorrow, where are we going to find a driver that good in less than 24 hours?
Person : I have an idea.
Alex landed her jet and walked down the ramp towards the others, and she was still carrying Seven's Helmet, and everybody saw she was wearing her new clothes that made her look like an avatar from Prime Empire.
Nina : Okay, cool.
Richard : Whoa.
Brenden : Sweetie, what's with the sweet new duds?
Alex smiled and spun around before giving her response and that made the others smile as well.
Princess Alex : It's a disguise, I was at the Ninjago City 350, before I got ambushed by Unagami's "Comrades", and I saw a driver there and she was good, really good.
Scott : She must be talking about Racer Seven.
Brenden : Sweetie, where did you get Seven's Helmet?
Princess Alex : I saw her crash on the 6th turn, and she threw it at the bleachers, that's when I got spotted, I used the spikes on the metal helmet to my advantage, and I fled from the track, but those Red Visors are growing in prominence in Ninjago City, especially in the Racing Association, I even saw them around the Noodle House.
Nya was about stop forward, before Jay and Brenden grabbed her.
Brenden : Don't, even, think about it.
Princess Alex : I remember the stories I was told about Prime Empire from Lloyd and Liv, but if the game was shut down a decade ago, how are The Whack Rats and The Red Visors in Ninjago?
Scott : That's a good question.
Jay : Maybe we should find Unagami and ask him.
Nina : Perhaps, but we should also be getting back to work.
The Young Ninjas then went back to their vehicles, before Alex handed Seven's Helmet to Brenden.
Princess Alex : Daddy, you hold onto it, and you guys keep working, I'm gonna head to Ninjago City and see if I can find Seven.
Brenden : Okay, just be careful.
Princess Alex : I will, and it's also a reason to get away from Nya.
Nya : I heard that.
Princess Alex : Shut it, ponytail!, and the rest of you, make sure Nya doesn't leave, she's not following me anymore.
Brenden : I'll make sure she doesn't.
Brenden kneeled down and hugged his daughter, and Alex returned the hug before walking towards The Flying Speeder.
Princess Alex : Thanks Daddy, and remember what I told you guys, do not, let Nya, leave.
Empress Harumi : We won't Alex, just go on ahead.
10 Minutes Later, on the Streets of Ninjago City.
Alex was following Racer Seven, and she just saw her enter the Noodle House, and she had Eric on her commset.
Princess Alex : She just went into the Noodle House, but this is just like how they described Terra Technica, there are Red Visors all over the place, at least in the Shadows.
Eric : Just be careful Alex, follow Seven and talk to her, once you're done, call me back.
Princess Alex : Will do, I will update you once I am done, Alex out.
Alex ended the call, and entered the Noodle House, she didn't have Seven's Helmet, since she left in the Jet.
Alex took off her headband, and put it in her pocket, and she unzipped her jacket again, which revealed her silver chestplate, which went from around her next to just beneath her ribcage, and part of her tights that went up to her waist.
Alex looked to her left, and saw Skylor at the counter.
Princess Alex : Hi, Miss Skylor.
Skylor looked over and saw Alex wearing her new clothes.
Skylor : Whoa, what's with the cool new moxie?
Princess Alex : It's a disguise, I was at the Ninjago City 350, when I was ambushed by the Red Visors, and the Whack Rats.
Skylor : I saw that on the News on the TV's in here, are you okay?
Princess Alex : I'm alright, but I saw the driver who was at the track come in here, I found her helmet.
Skylor : Racer Seven, she's at the bar table over there in the seating area outside, where the stools are.
Alex looked over and saw Seven sit down.
Princess Alex : Thanks.
Skylor smiled and nodded, and Alex walked over to where Seven was.
Racer Seven : *sigh* give me four.
Waiter : two?
Racer Seven : No, Four, two plus two, Four!
Waiter : four.
The waiter gave Seven her food, and she sighed as she grabbed the chopsticks.
Racer Seven : *sigh* , back to Prime Empire days I guess.
Person : Have you noticed that you always seem to wipe out at the exact same "spot" of each Road Race?
Racer Seven : Hey, you're the little girl from the Race Track, where's my helmet?!
Princess Alex : You always wipe out when there's 3 to Go, why is that do you think?
Racer Seven : What, who are you?
Alex gave her response as she turned and saw The Red Visors walking around the streets
Princess Alex : A young friend, and I don't have long, so if you want a chance at winning the races, and I mean a real chance, you need to listen to me.
Racer Seven : Okay?
Princess Alex : I have been seeing your races, and the sadness and anger from not finishing, I know that well, even for my young age, but by now you have to had noticed Unagami's Old Comrades, much like yourself, they were part of a Video Game, and that game does not even exist anymore, it shows that regardless where you are, or what you do, there will always be people from your old life who will try to take this new life, real life, away from you.
Seven laughed sarcastically, and rolled her eyes.
Racer Seven : Yea, right.
Princess Alex : No, Listen to me, the reason you keep crashing, is because regardless if it is a game or not, you were programmed too, and there are others who were not, who will try to take advantage-
Seven then grabbed Alex's cloth, and made her look at her in the eye, and Alex grunted, showing her fangs.
Racer Seven : Listen little girl, In two seconds, I'll tell the Red Visors and have them bring you down, so back off!
Seven shoved Alex, and she stood up.
Princess Alex : Just think about, when you are ready to listen, I'll be at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, nobody, even outside a game should be programmed to lose a race Seven, you deserve a chance to cross those finish lines, and you have three chances left to do so, you have until The Ignacia 375, you really want a chance at kicking the Whack Rats' butts, come talk to me.
Alex puts on her cloth face mask and leaves the Noodle House, and Seven still sits at the bar table, as she sees Alex running away.
Racer Seven : Who is that little girl?
Seven looked up, and saw what seemed like a light blue jet flying away from Ninjago City.
Next Time on The Plague and The Pirates : The Plague Doctor's Journey comes to an end, as The Young Ninjas get ever so closer to the end of their wait, for The Plague Doctor's Final Plan, with Maul and Arthur dead, and Nurse Payne running out of Options, Rogers runs out of protection, and Alex brings Kayla Seven back to The Formlings' Princess, before she heads to the Monastery to tell the others that The Plague Doctor is about to begin his final plan, and she has an idea, just as Eric and the others prepare to sneak into the Zeppelin to save Siddie and bring it down, The Young Ninjas get word to their Allies, and they all head to the skies, to bring The Plague Doctor down, and just as it happens, Nina and Nya get a shocking surprise, and it's the best surprise of their lives, but what they didn't like, was who held the secret behind it. . .
Will Eric reveal himself? Will The Plague Doctor be defeated? What'll Alex do next?
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To Be Continued. . . . .