"The masked warrior," Lloyd questioned.
"The masked warrior," Zane replied, speaking as he scanned the horizon again. "My thermal vision detected him to be close."
"We'll be right there," Lloyd assured. "Make sure he stays put till we get there."
Zane heard the commlink beep, indicating that Lloyd had signed off. He stepped out of the Nightcrawler, then pulled out his shurikens. Whoever was there, he thought, had nerve to challenge a ninja, let alone four of Ninjago's most powerful defenders. He stepped forward a few feet, then scanned the alleyway. Sure enough, the figure appeared again, but this time, he was not alone. Another blob, a slightly larger one, emerged next to him.
"Not good," Zane stated. "I better tell Lloyd more company has arrived."
Zane switched on the commlink, which beeped for a second while connecting to the signal. Then he heard Lloyd's voice answer the call.
"What's up Zane," Lloyd asked.
"The masked warrior is not alone," Zane answered.
"Good thing we brought the muscle then," Cole boasted.
"Stay put," Lloyd cautioned. "We'll be there as soon as Kai gets his foot unstuck from the floorboards."
"Over and…ouch," Zane said.
Just then, a large, hairy, muscular man, clothed in a brown ninja suit, slammed into the side of Zane, knocking him flat onto the ground. Upon impact, his commlink shattered, along with a few pieces of his left eye. Zane tried to wiggle free, but found himself too stuck to escape. The brown warrior started to laugh and taunt, boasting as his friend stepped out into the open.
"Look who I caught," the brown one boasted. "We have captured the mighty Ninja of Ice."
His friend uttered no sound; why would he, since Kuriam had already stated the obvious? Indeed, why would he, a nindroid, former general of the Sons of Garmadon, then red and black, now black and purple, say anything? Words were cheap, made to be spoken by lesser beings, but his master's tongue was never impoverished. No, he spoke coldly, sharp to the point, witty yet bloody, razor-thin, venomous as a viper's fang; yea, none whom he served were his master's equal. Master was craftier than Pythor, deadlier than Devourer, crueler than Overlord, sneakier than Chen, fiercer than Morro, more volatile than jinn, more vengeful than Crux, more powerful than Garmadon, more audacious than Harumi, more shadowed than Oni; he surpassed them all.
The nindroid's stare disheartened Kuriam, who jumped off of Zane and stopped his boasting.
"Don't stare at me like that," Kuriam ordered. "You make me uncomfortable when you do that."
"Uncomfortable," Zane questioned. "Perhaps this will be more uncomfortable."
Zane fired off a salvo of ice, hitting Kuriam right on his hips. Kuriam's lower body froze in place, trapped as a wall of ice wrapped around his stunned legs. Kuriam attempted to break free, but found himself too stuck to move anything.
"Help me," Kuriam shouted.
The purple nindroid muttered something inaudible, then flung a shuriken at the ice. Upon impact, the shuriken shattered the ice, freeing Kuriam from his shell. Then he pulled out his signature red katana blades and charged Zane, swinging at him with full force. Zane barely dodged the strike, rolling out of the way to avoid their edge.
"You are not the masked warrior," Zane stated, standing up to his feet again.
"You are correct," the nindroid replied. "But I am still your doom."
The nindroid kicked Zane with his right leg, smashing Zane into the back wall of the noodle shop. Zane then attempted to step forward, but instead met Kuriam's left fist. His entire body crashed through the walls of the noodle shop, landing with a crash into a cabinet full of pots and pans. Kuriam smiled.
"See," Kuriam boasted. "That why's you always bring muscle along to the party."
"I quite agree," Cole answered.
Kuriam and the nindroid turned toward the kitchen, coming face to face with the ninja and Ronan, who helped Kai lift Zane out of the rubble. All were armed and ready for battle, Lloyd and Kai carrying katanas, Cole wielding a scythe, Zane his shurikens, and Ronan a small crossbow, cocked and loaded with tiny aeroblade bolts.
"Stand down," Lloyd spoke, "and no one will get hurt."
"Too late for that," Kai retorted. "They already beat up Zane."
"And Skylor's kitchen," Ronan added. "I'd hate to tell her you guys trashed the noodle shop in her absence."
"Don't worry," Cole assured them. "We'll clean this place up once we mop these guys out of here."
"Come and get me," the nindroid offered.
The nindroid sprang upward, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye. Kuriam glanced at the ninja, then he too jumped, leaving nothing behind except a cloud of dust. Lloyd and the others immediately rushed out into the alley, spotting their foe overhead on a neighboring building's staircase.
"Get them," Lloyd ordered. "Don't let them escape."
Everyone jumped into the air, airjitzuing up to the platform while leaving Ronan on the ground. He aimed his crossbow at Kuriam and fired, but his shot was deflected by one of the red katanas.
"Go get them, ninja," Ronan shouted. "I can't give you any help from down here."
For a few minutes, the ninja chased the fleeing enemies up the building side, jumping from platform to platform behind them. Zane twice was kicked by Kuriam off the platform, landing below on Cole and then on Kai, but they all reached the top shortly after their enemies.
Then they engaged in hand-to-hand combat, Zane and Kai attacking the nindroid and Lloyd and Cole taking on Kuriam. At first, they resorted to using their weapons, swinging their katanas and scythes and throwing the shurikens around. Each strike, though, failed to scratch the droid or Kuriam, as they deflected their blows with the precision of a master.
"They're good," Kai gasped. "I can't land a blow on them."
"Me either," Cole agreed, dodging a right cut from Kuriam's blade. "They're too well-trained."
"Then we show them who's boss," Lloyd declared. "Ninja, go!"
Lloyd immediately entered into green Spinjitzu, approaching the droid faster than a speeding car. All the other ninja followed suit and soon four spinning masses of elemental energy assailed Kuriam and the nindroid. The droid jumped and somersaulted out of their way, but Kuriam was flung off the roof back into the alley below. As soon as he fell, the ninja stopped, then grabbed the droid and dragged him to the edge of the building.
"Tell us who you are," Lloyd ordered, pointing his katana at the nindroid. "Are you the masked warrior?"
"Don't be so harsh, Lloyd," Kai cautioned. "We're here to get answers, not to kill people."
"Alright," Lloyd nodded, pulling back the katana. "Who are you? Speak."
"I am not the masked warrior," the nindroid laughed. "I am merely a servant, one doing the bidding of his master. Who am I but a humble nindroid, serving those who I deem the true masters of Ninjago. Send my regards to the others, and good bye."
Before the ninja could react, the nindroid rolled off the side of building, falling through the air toward the ground. Then they heard the engines of the Nightcrawler roar to life as the new tires screeched against the pavement. The Nightcrawler surged forward, catching the nindroid and then shooting out into the streets again, taking Kuriam and his friend out of sight. All the Ninja watched their ride disappear, then they turned to one another.
"That ended well," Cole mumbled. "Not only did we get licked, but they stole our only ride home too. We really need to come up with a better plan next time."
"Cole is right," Kai agreed. "We didn't get any answers from Skylor about the masked warrior either. This entire day was just a waste of time."
Kai then kicked the roof ledge, smashing his toes into the concrete. He yelped and hopped around while grabbing his foot, then grumbled and plopped down onto the ground.
"Well, Lloyd, you got us here," Cole stated. "Tell me you have a plan for getting home."
"Walking home is out of the question," Zane stated. "Public transit is still expanding to these parts and the tower is more than three miles away."
"Too bad Destiny's Bounty is in the shop," Kai sighed.
"Cole's right," Lloyd replied. "We need to return to Borg Tower and make a better plan for dealing with these guys. Zane, call Pixel and tell her we need picked up from Chen's Noodle Shop."
"What about Jay and Nya," Kai asked. "We should tell them about what's going on too."
"You're right, Kai," Lloyd sighed. "We're going to need the full team for this one. And I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of them…."
Far from Ninjago City, across rough, uncharted seas, a small underwater submarine, painted black and purple, beaches on the shores of the Dark Island, coming to port in a city of planks and stone houses. Once secured, it opens up its exit ramp, allowing the Nightcrawler to zoom out onto the cobble roads toward the nearby mountain. It zips by row after row of houses and shops, passes by the growing arsenal of war machines, and halts outside an iron gate. There, it stops and shuts off, opening its window to allow Kuriam and the nindroid out.
"Smell the fresh salt from the sea," Kuriam laughs. "Oh it's good to be home, safe and sound."
"I cannot smell," the nindroid states. "Come, we have business to attend to."
They walk forward to the gatekeeper, who immediately salutes them and gives Kuriam a sealed red scroll.
"From the master," the gatekeeper said. "He wishes to meet with you two immediately in the throne room."
The gates opened for the two warriors, revealing a narrow, stone staircase winding up into the skies to the peak. Up there, Kuriam and the droid knew, lied the famed Temple of Light, where Lloyd had received his Golden Powers, where the First Spinjitzu Master had hidden his battle suit, where their master now resided as lord of the island. They marched up the ten thousand steps, panting as they reached the large red doors which concealed the temple's inner chambers.
There, a young girl, clothed in a black dress that matched her crow's hair, greeted them, extending her right hand for Kuriam to kiss.
"You are back," she smiled. "I feared the worst."
"Nothing personal, Lady of Shadows," Kuriam answered, kissing the right hand.
"Did you meet trouble," the lady asked as they strolled toward the temple.
"Plenty," Kuriam sighed. "We ran afoul of the Ninja you warned us about."
"Which ones," the lady questioned. "Name their elements."
"Fire, Ice, Earth," the nindroid stated, "and most important of all, the green one."
"Come in," the lady beckoned. "The master wishes to speak with you personally."
They stepped into the temple's main room, shutting the large doors shut behind them. Everything was dark and shadowed, with little light streaming from the roof windows. All that Kuriam could see were four lampstands of purple fire, placed on the very four elements in a circle round a deepstone throne directly over where Lloyd had received his power. And there, in a shroud of purple ninja, lied the master, who rubbed with his fingers a full glass of red wine.
"Master," Kuriam bowed with the droid. "We have returned."
"I know," the master chuckled. "I have seen your work."
"I apologize that we failed our mission," Kuriam sighed. "We were unable to stop the Ninja from visiting Skylor."
"You did not fail," the master spoke. "My plan is proceeding as I desired. You are merely an appetizer for the ninja, a prelude to the first course in my master plan. Now leave and continue in your training; I have all that I need to proceed."
Kuriam and the droid bowed, then exited the temple. The lady then proceeded forward, bowing at the feet of her master.
"Rise," the master ordered. "You have taught them well. They will make for fine generals someday."
"Nothing I have done is without your wisdom," the lady smiled.
"True, true," the master chuckled. "My dear, phase 1 is complete. We have successfully gauged the strength of the ninja, and have found them to be wanting in many things. Now we proceed to phase 2."
"As you wish," the lady smiled. "The Ninja have not seen the last of us; oh no, our dance with them has only begun."