Cole donned his mask and grabbed for his scythe as Jay, Zane, and Kai lined up next to him. Chen's followers were slithering towards them with flicking tongues and gleaming fangs. The other Elemental Masters braced themselves to fight as well, but without their powers, Cole wasn't sure they could do much.

Glancing at the Roto Jet on the other side of the quay, Cole thought that if he could fight his way there, he could possibly use it on the snakes.

"Get to the jet!" he called, and ran forward to meet the approaching snakes. He swung his scythe at a snake, but it was too fast and weaved around each blow. Lifting the scythe high, Cole hoped that Zane as right about their weapons not being affected and brought it down into the ground. A crack split the earth, but instead of engulfing the snake, it zigzagged diagonally and spread across the stone staircase in a twisted line. Cole stared in bewilderment.

"Lookout!" A bolt of lightning cut through the air and miraculously hit the snake that Cole was facing instead of him.

Something is definitely wrong with the weapons, Cole thought.

Then he heard Garmadon's voice ring out over the fighting: "Everyone get to the palace!"

Cole threw another look at the jet, still out of reach. Dozens of serpents stood between them. "You heard him," Cole said to his team. "Fall back!"

He made a break for the large double doors, but only made it half of the way before a serpent burst from the ground in front of him. Cole took a hasty step back, nearly falling down the stairs. The snake's jaws snapped shut just short of his arm, and he swung his scythe again, only intending to use the blade. The snake dodged with a savage hiss, baring its fangs once again. Then suddenly it froze, howled in pain, and ran the other way. Seliel stood just behind it, looking very smug.

"Next time watch your tail!" she called after it.

"Thanks!" Cole gasped.

"Don't mention it. Now come on!" He followed her up the steps, Serpentine cultists following close behind. They charged through the doors, followed by the rest of Cole's team and the rest of the Elemental Masters before the door was slammed shut.

Still, the mutated army pounded against the door, trying to break it down.

"Come on boys, don't let them through!" Cole said, pushing against the door with all his might. He remembered too late that, without his elemental power, he didn't have his super strength anymore either.

Kai appeared beside him, his heels digging into the floor. "I don't think they're going to give us much of a choice," he said above the snarling outside.

"Our odds of survival are dwindling into the decimals," he heard Pixal say. "I fear that we may not survive this."

"Don't give in!" Seliel shouted from his other side. "They can't keep it up forever!"

Neither can we, Cole thought, already feeling the strain in his arms. Without his enhanced strength, he didn't feel as if he was making a difference at all. He turned his back to the door, trying to anchor himself better. He gasped when Anacondrai swords pierced through the wood, narrowly missing him and the others.

He thought they really were about to make their final stand when the door stopped pounding against his back. To his surprised, the noise from outside faded away, and all the ninja exchanged surprised glances.

"See?" Seliel said, breathless. "What'd I tell ya?"

"Where did they go?" Nya wondered.

Cole peered at the crack between the doors. Were they really gone? Or were they just planning something worse? Cole began to pry open the door just enough to peek out.

"Don't!" Jay warned him. "It could be a trick!"

Cole glanced around, thinking there had to be some way that they could see what was going on outside the gate.

"Over there!" said Zane, pointing to a ladder that leaned against the wall nearby. Everyone, all the ninja, Elemental Masters, and Garmadon with his son, followed him to the ladder and scaled the wall.

Cole was one of the first to reach the top. He gasped when he saw all of their vehicles – the Roto Jet and the Blade Copters – rising into the air. Cole could just barely make out Master Chen in the jet's cockpit. At least, he assumed it was Chen, a snake-ified version of him anyways. Then the jet turned toward the masters on the rampart and Cole didn't even have time to issue a warning before it fired on them.

Everyone ducked, though they were completely exposed. Cole only looked up when the firing stopped and saw that Chen was leading the copters east. He didn't have to wonder where Chen was going. That guy had had a grudge against Ninjago for years now; he was finally going to get his revenge.

Behind Cole, Jay spluttered like a broken motor. "This – this is just priceless. He took the Roto Jet and all of the Blade Copters!"

"What have we done?" Nya whispered.

"We all have families in Ninjago," said Griffon.

With a jolt, Cole remembered his father. He was out there somewhere, and if Chen was headed for the city, Cole's father would be right in the line of danger. It had been such a long time since he'd last spoken to his father . . . his stomach churned at the thought that anything might happen to him.

Jay was still going at it. "Ugh, and we had to destroy any other way off the island. Whose idea was that?"

Cole looked to Seliel. Her hands gripped the edge of the wall and for a moment he thought that she might rip a chunk out of it.

Then she bowed her head. "You were right, Sensei. We were overconfident and let Chen take the advantage."

Cole hesitated before putting a hand on her shoulder. "We all did."

"Did anyone see Skylor with him?" Kai asked.

Pixal shook her head. "I scanned each of the vehicles, but I did not detect her with them."

"Then she must still be on the island," Nya deduced. "We have to find her and Misako immediately."

"We have to find a way off this island," Cole interjected. Finding Skylor wasn't going to do them or the mainland any good.

But Seliel rounded on Cole. "We have to rescue our teammate!"

"And my mom!" Lloyd added.

Cole wanted to argue, but he didn't think that would help either.

"Perhaps if we found Skylor, we would all be able to get our elemental power back," Zane suggested.

Seliel rolled her eyes. "Sure, fine, whatever gets you to help us."

"We must find them and get off the island," Garmadon said. "Ninjago won't last long without us."

Skylor and Misako ran for as long as they could. It was slow going, between Skylor's difficulty navigating the uneven terrain and Misako having to support her all the way. It wasn't long before they were both exhausted, and Misako decided that if Chen didn't want them to escape, he would have already caught up to them.

"Let's rest," she said to Skylor, slowing to a stop beside the path they had been following through the jungle. She leaned against a tree, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "It's moments like these when I think I should have trained with you girls more."

Skylor didn't answer. She sat beside Misako, staring at her hands. She was purple all over, and her nose was only slightly less pronounced. Her features were mostly the same, but still looked so different.

Misako's heart ached for her. Though Skylor would have known for years about the transformation, it was her father's choice, not her own. Misako sat down, searching for the right words to say. "It's going to be alright, Skylor. You're still the same girl underneath."

"Maybe that's not such a good thing," Skylor said, her voice so low that Misako almost didn't hear it.

Misako reached out and tucked a strand of violet colored hair behind Skylor's ear. "What makes you say that?"

Skylor clenched her fists. "I almost did a terrible thing," she whispered. "I don't know if Lloyd told you, but when I got the Staff of Elements from my father, I let its power corrupt me. If you all hadn't shown up in time . . . I would have killed him."

Misako was quiet for a moment. She had always known that Skylor had less morally sound ideals than the other girls due to her upbringing. It was more evident on some days than others, and in the early days Misako had, admittedly, questioned Garmadon's decision to recruit her. But Skylor was learning to be better every day, and the more time she spent with the others, the more she had started to see the importance of teamwork and mercy. And ever since meeting Skylor for herself, Misako had never once considered her capable of murder.

"No, Lloyd didn't tell me," Misako said. "But he probably knew it wasn't his place. That wasn't you, Skylor. It could have happened to anyone. No one is meant to hold that much power."

"But I felt it," Skylor protested. "I was so angry and I hated him so much. What if I really meant it? If no one should have that much power, then why am I the Master of Amber? Does that mean that what I felt before really came from inside me?"

Misako reached out to gently turn Skylor's head to face her, but Skylor wouldn't meet her gaze. "Be honest. Do you still feel that way about your father right now?"

"I . . . I don't know," she said, her eyes glistening. "I don't know. Right now I don't feel so angry, just . . . sad. How could he do that to me? He could have killed me."

"Chen is selfish and only believes what he wants to. He'll convince himself to do anything for his own benefit. Deep down, I think he does care about you, but he allows other things to get in the way of that."

Skylor sighed. "I guess he just loves me in his own way. That's what my mother used to say."

Misako fervently shook her head. "No, Skylor, that's not right. Love isn't redefined based on how someone feels. He's not showing you love if he treats you poorly." Misako took a deep breath before she got ahead of herself. "Maybe those feelings did come from somewhere inside of you. I know you must feel betrayed, and you have a right to feel angry as well. All those emotions conflict with the man you know as your father. But you would never stoop to his level and do the things he's done."

Misako reached out and took a hold of both of Skylor's hands. The thick scales didn't feel as rough as she would have thought, but were as warm and soft as her own hands.

"You're a good girl Skylor. You've proven that time and time again. Maybe the staff amplified and distorted your feelings, but it was fleeting. We do and say terrible things when we're overcome with emotion. But a single moment doesn't replace who you've been your entire life."

Skylor was quiet as she looked at their hands, and Misako knew that she still had her doubts.

"I know, I know, you've probably been thinking about this for a long while, and I bet you've got plenty more reasons why you think you're a horrible person. Maybe after all this is over you can have a nice long chat with a professional. But right now, we need to get back to the others."

Skylor nodded. "Okay." Having a goal seemed to give her strength and she made an attempt to stand again. Misako caught her when she faltered and helped her up.

"You'll get used to it once you have your strength back," Misako promised, though she didn't know if that was an encouraging thought. There had to be some way to reverse the spell.

"What will the others think –" Skylor asked, but Misako cut her off.

"The others will just be happy to see you're okay. Now come, let's get a move on."

The two women started once again on their trek back through the jungle. Misako had her eyes glued on the road ahead, watching for danger, when she saw that the light filtering through the leaves was momentarily blotted out. Beside her, Skylor gasped and her eyes shot up.

"Misako! There's something above us!" she whispered.

Misako led her under the cover of some low-hanging trees and they watched the sky.

"What could it be?" Skylor asked in a low voice.

Misako didn't have an answer for her. The shadow looked large, but she hadn't seen anything.

"Do you think it's my father?"

Misako furrowed her brow. "I would think that if he didn't want us to escape, he would have caught up by now."

"Well it was big and it flew and –" Just then, the shadow passed over a second time. Misako narrowed her eyes. Skylor cocked her head.

"That's strange," Misako said to herself.

"It almost looked like . . ."

There was a snarl and branches snapped overhead as ivory wings beat at the jungle canopy, searching for a place to land. Skylor gaped, but Misako had to smile.

"If your father didn't already have a good reason to leave us alone, I think he will now."

If it's convenient in the show, it's convenient for me ;)