Note: I will not go into much detail concern the snakes.
Far out in the desert, Pythor and Skales were digging away at a hole thirty or forty feet deep. They had spent a good three days digging out the hole, and Pythor was not about to stop now; he was on a mission to avenge his race, all of his race. Skales, on the other hand, had only agreed to come so he can say "I told you so" when the whole thing blew up in the Anacondrai's face.
But then, Pythor stuck his shovel in the sand, about to scoop another pound away, but the metal struck something hard. The two snakes started, and then Pythor smoothed the rest of the sand away, revealing a circular object. He chuckled darkly, sending a slight shiver through Skales' bones.
"Skales," Pythor said, "I believe we've found it."
The purple snake reached down and twisted the middle of the circle. The sand around the two began swirling, uncovering the ruins of a large city. Pillars rose from the sand, as well as half-complete temples and broken statues. Skales looked around with large eyes, while Pythor's own eyes glittered evilly.
"I present to you," Pythor announced, "The city formerly known as the Lost City of Ouroboros!"
The Bounty rose from white, fluffy clouds, the twin rockets pouring out flames. Behind the ship, a mailman was flying on a bicycle with wings. As he pedaled, the wings flapped, allowing him to fly.
"Wait!" the man cried, holding out a flat package, "Slow down! I have a package for Sensei Wu!"
Inside the ship, the ninjas, Nya, and Lloyd sat at the dining table, eating lunch, when the old man walked into the room, carrying his package. For the past few weeks, Lloyd had been sharing a lot of memories and ideas on how he was going to help beat Pythor and the other snakes.
"First, I'll stomp on his tail," Lloyd was saying, "Then, when he turns, a thunder-clap to his ears! Then, when he's stunned, I'll disarm him!"
"Too late!" Cole crowed, "He's already hypnotized you and now, you're under his control!"
"Or, he's already put you in a squeeze," Zane added.
"Or he bit you and now you're turning into one of them," Ani jumped in, rubbing the boy's hair.
"Or spit on you with his hallucinatory venom," Kai said, making hand motions, "Trust me: bad stuff."
Lloyd whined, "Uncle, what's the best way to stun a Serpentine if you don't know what kind they are?"
The elder sighed, "Sadly, it was the Sacred Flute you five carelessly lost…"
"Ah-ah-ah-ah!" Jay interrupted, "We didn't lose it! Pythor stole it."
"Whatever the case," the sensei said, pouring a cup of tea, "Without it, I fear we have nothing to combat their powers. We may have prevented them from uniting in the past, but they will try again. And one day, they will be stronger."
"Don't worry, Sensei, I've almost reached my full potential," Cole assured him, then he acted out, "And, when I become the Green Ninja, we're not gonna need any magic flute."
"You're gonna be the Green Ninja?" Kai pretended to give him a look, "Ha-ha-ha! Don't make me laugh."
"I thought it was decided that I was destined to be the Green Ninja," Zane broke in.
Jay laughed and put a hand on Zane's shoulder, "The only thing decided about you, Zane is that you're weird."
"Well, I'm the senior student and the only one with special abilities outside of elemental powers," Ani replied, also pretending to argue, "Therefore, I'm the Green Ninja."
The ninjas began full on arguing, though if Nya, Lloyd, and Sensei Wu listened carefully, they would've realized they were pretending. Well, Lloyd didn't and just decided to ignore them.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lloyd got out of his seat and walked to his uncle, "What's in the box?"
Sensei Wu stood and took the lid off the package and replied, "Your new uniforms."
He pushed the package to the middle of the table. Jay let out an excited gasp. The five eagerly pulled their new suits out of the box and began praising the styles.
"They've got, like, armor!" Jay shouted.
"I love the gold highlights!" Kai said.
"Battle claws!" Cole yelled.
"Well, I definitely want to be seen in this," Ani smiled.
"The material is really light and breathable," Zane looked over his uniform.
"Aw..." Lloyd looked disappointed, "Nothing for me?"
"Um..." the old man thought for a moment, "You get, uh... the box."
Lloyd's face fell, until Ani cut in and tossed a smaller box to the boy, "Here ya go, Lloyd, chocolate-covered strawberries Jay's parents sent us some yesterday."
"Thanks Ani!" Lloyd shouted and ran to hug her.
Jay on the other hand was confused, "I thought you already ate them."
"You boys know sugar gives me nightmares!" the orange ninja glared.
"Yeah, the whole ship shakes then," Nya joked.
Suddenly, the alarm went off and red lights began pulsing rapidly. The group ran out of the room instantly and raced into the bridge.
"Sorry to break up the moment, guys," Cole noted, checking a screen, "But, a small fraction of our slithering friends are stirring up trouble over at Mega Monster Amusement Park."
"Amusement park?!" Lloyd cried eagerly, "Can I go? Can I go with you, please? Let me make things up! I can help!"
He jumped around the room, giving everyone puppy-dog eyes. Ani almost gave in, but her master prevented her from saying her decision.
"I'm sorry, nephew," the sensei said, "You will stay here, where it's safe."
"Awww..." Lloyd complained, "Ninja get all the fun."
He didn't have much of an intention of actually fighting, he just wanted to watch the snakes get their tails kicked, especially Pythor, that one made him so mad.
"Whaddya say guys?" Jay held up his suit, "Time to try out the new merchandise?"
The five began fawning over the suits again.
The ninjas stood at the edge of the Bounty, now wearing the new uniforms. Kai's new suit was a blazing red with flame designs on the ends of the sleeves and had a small red upper jacket and double belt. Jay's suit was a bright blue with white bolt designs on one sleeve and the other sleeve was plated with steel. Zane wore a white suit and had a brown cover on the end of the shirt. Cole had on a suit that was black and had a brown open jacket. And Ani's suit was orange with brown sleeves and a chest-belt and looked more like a short kimono and pants set. Cole and Jay had silver highlights on their suits, while Kai, Ani, and Zane had golden highlights.
"This new stuff feels like it'll really protect us!" Cole fawned.
"It provides more mobility," Zane agreed.
"You wanna strut your stuff on the catwalk," Jay asked, "or get down to that amusement park so we can go on some rides?!"
"Yeah… forget about the Serpentine," Ani replied in a sarcastic tone.
"I love a good old-fashioned roller-coaster," Kai answered, "But nothing beats this!"
With wild yells and shouts, the five jumped over the edge and transformed their weapons. They streaked down the sky swiftly, trailing white and black smoke behind them. Just before they hit a roof, the vehicles reverted back into weapons and the ninjas jumped off the roof and landed on the ground, then walked away from the little building they had fallen on.
"Ha-ha, check that out!" Cole said proudly, "And not a scratch on me."
The ninjas' attention was suddenly moved to a large, screaming crowd.
"Ha-ha!" Jay puffed out his chest slightly, "Ladies, relax, relax! We have arrived!"
Ani snorted, "Are you an idiot? Wait, let me rephrase that: you're an idiot! They're not paying any attention to us, Jay. Look."
The energy mistress gently brushed aside some people and pointed to what everybody was gathered around: Half-dozen snakes that were tied up, struggling and writhing.
"What just happened?" Kai asked, bewildered.
"Oh, you totally missed it," a girl next to him said a slightly nasally voice, "There were, like, icky snakes, and then this mysterious samurai came in and saved everyone."
"He was, like, gorgeous," another girl said dreamily.
"You saw his face?"
"Nah, but, we could totally tell."
Just then, Nya came up from behind them and handed the two girls ice cream cones.
"Nya!" Jay straightened up, "You're here!"
"Yeah!" She smiled, "Oh, you just missed all the action! He just flew in, took care of business, and then flew off! It was pretty cool."
"Don' wanna be a ninja!" The six turned to see a little boy trying to escape from his mother's grip, "I wanna be a samurai!"
Two men walked by, one of them saying, "Samurai's my new hero!"
"Y'know, the samurai can kick the ninjas' butts!" A teenager said.
Ani materialized a shield with sharp edges and threw it in the air yelling "Wanna bet?!"
Zane patted Ani's shoulder, "You do not like samurais, do you?"
"They're everything ninja aren't: stuck-up, greedy, fat-headed, and… and…" Ani was saying until she growled and muttered something her friends couldn't hear, but Zane guessed it was more very unkind things towards samurai in giant, robotic suits.
"Who is this guy?" Kai frowned.
"Whoever he is, he's stealing our thunder!" Cole observed.
"Ninja protect Ninjago," Ani added, "Not samurai!"
"And we just got these cool, new ninja suits!" Jay complained, then crossed his arms and scoffed, "I'm gonna say it: I hate samurai!"
"Do I hear a hint of jealousy?" They turned again and saw Sensei Wu walking toward them, a cone of cotton candy in his hand, "Maybe this can be a lesson for you."
Jay groaned, "Not another les…. Hey! How'd you get here so quick?"
"The lesson is: iron sharpens iron."
"What?" Ani asked.
"I do not follow, Sensei," Zane admitted.
"Healthy competition can help you reach your true potential faster," the elder explained as he walked forward and his students moved to let him pass, "Do not be jealous of this samurai. Let it inspire you."
Then the sensei's gaze landed on one of the rides, "Ooh! Ferris Wheel!"
He began running towards it, startling a few girls in the process.
"Inspire?" Jay narrowed his eyes.
"Wait a minute," Kai said, "Maybe the old man's right."
"You want us to compete with the samurai?" Cole asked in disbelief, "He's got all the cool gadgets; we don't stand a chance!"
"No, not with him, with us! I say we turn this into our own competition," Kai clarified, "If he's not the Green Ninja, then whichever of us is skilled enough to catch this mysterious samurai…"
He whipped out his sword, scaring a passing man.
"…is probably the best of the bunch."
"So, whoever learns the identity of the samurai," Jay realized excitedly, "Is the one who'll become the destined Green Ninja! Ha!"
He pulled his nun chucks from his back.
"I love it!"
"Or at least good enough to train the Chosen One," Ani suggested.
"Then, it's a bet," Cole raised a fist, "May the Green Ninja or the one worthy of training the Green Ninja win!"
"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" the five yelled.
"Multiple snake sightings!" Nya cried, "They're everywhere!"
And the five ninjas set off to the different snake locations.
Zane sped down a snowy mountain, towards a village where the Hypnobrai were terrifying the residents. He pulled over, and was about to hop off, but the sight that greeted him made the white ninja stop.
"Huh?"
The samurai and his suit were standing not twenty feet away, a group of Serpentine tied up at his feet. The samurai let out a robotic laugh and flew away.
"Metal menace," Zane grumbled as he got off his motorcycle and threw a snowball at the samurai.
Kai rushed towards three Constrictai snakes, his golden sword pointed out.
"Go, ninja, go!" A group of junior-high girls cheered him on.
But, of course, the samurai showed up out of nowhere and snatched up the snakes.
"Oh, samurai," The girls blushed and began fawning over the human inside the robot, one girl's hands making a heart.
Kai scowled and swirled into his tornado, only to be attacked by the samurai.
"Agh! Hey, what's going on?" he yelled as the samurai picked him up.
Cole jumped into a cave as the samurai fought off a few snakes.
"Now I've got you!" the black ninja yelled.
He hopped onto the robot's arm and laughed, only for the samurai to shoot the arm off. Cole smacked straight into a rocky wall.
Ani advanced on the Venomari snakes in front of her, forming a ball of pure orange energy in her hands. She crouched down and was about to blast the ball, but a large "BOOM!" behind her forced the female ninja to turn around. The samurai stood behind her, a metal arm raised in a teasing greeting.
The samurai then shot a net towards the snakes, capturing them, and flew off with the Serpentine.
"Get back here you coward!" she snarled, nearly breaking her voice, "Fight like a man!"
Jay stood at the edge of a railroad, dressed in a pink dress and holding a blond wig. He placed the wig on his light brown hair and lay down on the tracks.
"Help!" he called in a high-pitched voice, trying to mimic a girl, "Samurai! Where are you? Oh!"
The samurai landed next to him, holding a few wooden tracks. Before Jay knew it, the samurai had placed the tracks around the blue ninja, and the train had zoomed by on those tracks.
Jay yelled angrily as the samurai flew off, "Stupid samurai!"
Kai sped down the road of a small city on his motorcycle, Lloyd sitting just behind him.
"Okay," Kai said as Lloyd hopped off, "I know it's my turn to look after you, but just play a few games and stay put while I look around."
The red ninja handed the younger boy a few coins.
"I have a feeling the samurai may show up."
"Lemme help!"
"No."
"Come on! At least drop me off at a decent arcade..."
"Sorry, shorty!"
And with that, Kai drove off.
"Kai! Wait!" Lloyd cried.
He coughed the motorcycle's exhaust out of his throat and looked around. Was this really the best Kai could do? He grumbled and headed for the arcade door, but stopped as soon as he heard snake-like voices. He peered down the alley next to the arcade and listened carefully.
"Impossible," The strange, accented voice of a Fangpyre reached Lloyd's ears, "The lost city does not exist."
What... what were the Serpentine doing here?
"It isn't lost anymore..."
Lloyd froze. That was Skales' voice.
"…And I hear there's gonna be a fight!"
"Count me in!"
Lloyd narrowed his eyes and crept down the alley, trying to keep silent. He peeked around the corner at the end of the alley and watched the Serpentine.
"All aboard!" Skales called, standing next to a green bus, "Next ssssstop, Ouroboros!"
Lloyd turned and walked back to the arcade. He looked up and froze again. Inside the arcade's window was a Hypnobrai scout costume set. Lloyd thought quickly, and in a matter of minutes, he was racing back down the alley, wearing the costume. He hopped onto the first step of the bus, but Skales topped him.
"Hey! You!" the snake said, "Hold it there!"
Lloyd gulped and backed up.
"Last one in closes the door!" Skales said cheerily.
"Uh, shhh-ure thing," Lloyd said.
He was safe, for now. The boy closed the door behind him and took a seat in the back. Skales started the engine and drove out of the alley, then out of the city.
Lloyd watched for hours as the bus drove over sand, sand, and more sand. He began to get bored, and entertained himself with the last piece of chocolate strawberry Ani gave him. He raised it to his mouth, but then, he looked out the window again and the sweet fell from his fingers. Statues of snakes and the Serpentine were all around the bus. Temples and ruins stood proudly behind them. Serpentine were everywhere.
...He was in for it now!
"I bring you together to the Lost City of Ouroboros!" Pythor addressed the large crowd, "Before the statue of our very own... Great Devourer! To speak of unity and…"
"Where are the fights?" one of the Constrictai yelled.
"Where is the big show?" a Venomari snake demanded.
The crowd began chanting, "Sli-ther-pit! Sli-ther-pit! Sli-ther-pit!"
With an angry yell, Pythor leaped into the middle of the arena. "
You want a show? You want to see a fight? I ask for your allegiance, but you will not give it! So, I will take it!"
He slithered towards the generals of the other four tribes, who were at the other end of the arena. Skales had managed to slip in without anyone noticing.
"What are you saying?" Fangtom hissed.
"I challenge the four tribe generals for their staffs and their allegiance!" Pythor narrowed his eyes, "At once!"
The audience's cheering grew louder.
"I fought hard for this staff!" Acidicus hissed, "And will not give it up so easily!"
"There's no way he can defeat the four of us at once!" Skalidor declared.
The short snake swiped at Pythor with his staff. Acidicus joined in, as well as Fangtom and Skales, though the Hypnobrai general was merely acting. They each lashed out with their staffs, until all but Skales jumped onto Pythor, effectively pinning the Anacondrai down. Skales pulled out the Sacred Flute and handed it to Pythor, who pressed it to his fangs and began playing it. Soft, sweet music filled the air, causing Fangtom, Acidicus, and Skalidor to wince in pain and clamber off the Anacondrai.
"Oh!" Lloyd, who was still disguised and up in the stands, froze. "He's using the Sacred Flute against his own!"
"My ears!" Skalidor shouted.
"It hurts!" Acidicus yelled.
Skales threw down his staff and Pythor took the rest of the staffs by force.
"Bow to your master," Pythor ordered his voice low and deadly.
Then, throwing the staffs back to their owners, his voice rose, "Bow to your master, Serpentine!"
He put the staffs in front of him as every snake bowed, even the generals. Lloyd attempted a bow, but his Hypnobrai hat slipped. In his haste to tug it back into place, the maracas that gave him the sound of a snake fell from his grasp to the sand below.
Pythor looked up.
Lloyd squeaked and tried to get away, but the Hypnobrai snake next to him grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him, saying, "Where d'you think you're going?"
The rest of the boy's costume fell off.
Pythor hissed in disbelief, "Lloyd?"
"Trying to find out the samurai's identity is more of a nuisance than the snakes!"
Nya and the ninjas were seated at the dining table, discussing various things. But, mostly, the ninjas talked about the samurai. They all spoke with a tone that made Nya visibly uncomfortable.
"Any luck with you?" Cole asked, turning to Jay, who was at the end of the table.
"The guy's elusive," Jay sighed, "He's like a ghost. One moment he's there, the next, he's gone."
"He always manages to escape from us," Ani muttered, still focused on her drawing, one of many she made of horrible things happening to the show-boater; this one was one where the samurai was being dissected by slug-like aliens.
"I'm starting to believe we may never catch him," Zane's eyes were downcast.
"I think it's safe to say none of us're closer to proving we're the Green Ninja," Kai set down his cup, "Or the Green Ninja's master."
The door suddenly slid open, and Sensei Wu walked in, his head bowed and his hands clasped behind his back.
"Looks like iron is sharpening iron," he said, looking at his students and walked to Cole, "I feel you getting closer to your true potential."
He patted the black ninja's arm.
"Ow!" Cole cringed, pulling away his arm.
After Nya left, the old man then asked, "By the way, why were the five of you pretending to argue over which of you is the Green Ninja?"
"That obvious?" Kai frowned.
"We're concerned that Lord Garmadon is searching for the Green Ninja with the intent of converting or killing whoever that person is," Ani explained, "So for that person's safety, we've decided to not publicly look for the Chosen One so everyone would thing it's one of us."
"That way when we do find out who the Green Ninja is," Cole added, "We can protect and train him or her in peace, unless it is one of us."
"No one knows about any of this but you and us," Zane confirmed.
"And why keep this ruse?"
"So no one knows we don't know who the Green Ninja is!" Jay exasperated.
The old man let the issue go as he realized something unusual.
"Where is my nephew?" the mentor then asked, mostly to Kai, "I thought you were looking after him."
"I thought Cole was gonna pick him up," Kai answered.
"I went to the arcade, but he wasn't there," Cole reported, "Jay was…"
"Don't bring me into this!" the blue ninja snapped, "I babysat yesterday!"
"Sensei," Zane said, looking up, "We have not seen him."
"You lost him?!" Ani shrieked.
"We must find the boy," Their teacher's eyes became slightly worried.
Kai streaked down the street where he had dropped off Lloyd, his four teammates close behind. Their vehicles transformed back into the Golden Weapons and they walked to the arcade.
"Lloyd?" Kai pushed open the door and peered inside, "Lloyd?"
He turned to the others, saying, "He was right here! Someone must've seen him."
"How could you just leave him alone?" Ani was very upset, "You were supposed to be taking care of him!"
Cole looked up and spotted a security camera, "Hey, guys! Check this out!"
The five looked over the camera's film in the police station just a few blocks from the camera.
"Oh, Wait, wait!" Jay said suddenly, "There's the pipsqueak!"
The screen showed Lloyd walking down a sidewalk.
"Play that back!" Ani ordered.
Zane re-winded the tape and played it again. The on-screen Lloyd peered around the corner, and then walked into the store next to the arcade. Zane fast-forwarded it a bit until Lloyd walked back out, now decked out in a Hypnobrai-like costume. He turned down the alley and disappeared from the camera's sight.
"What is he up to?" the orange ninja muttered.
They walked down the alley Lloyd had gone down and followed the boy's tiny footprints.
"I sense these are Lloyd's footprints," Zane remarked as they exited the alley and came to a stop in front of a little road.
"No really?!" Ani snapped, "I thought they were mine!"
"Ani, calm down," Cole told her, "He's just trying to help. It's going to be okay."
Zane noted, "But, they come to an end here. Why?"
"Something tells me we're going for a ride," Kai pointed at the tire trails in the dirt road. "Come on, guys!"
The ninjas began running down the road, now following the trails. With a flash of bright light, they were seated on or in their vehicles, with Jay in his jet, Kai on his motorcycle, Zane on his snow bike, Ani in her helicopter, and Cole in his tread assault. In just a matter of minutes, they were out of the city and in the desert. They zoomed over sandy dunes, swerved around large rocks poking out of the sand, and soon, they were able to see the Lost City of Ouroboros.
"What is that place?" Cole asked over the radio.
"Looks like Snake City," Jay replied.
"I thought Ouroboros was just a myth," Ani gapped.
"Let's get a closer look," Kai said.
He sped up and the rest followed.
The ninja looked around and noted that all the Serpentine were together and not fighting.
"It appears Pythor has successfully united all of the tribes," the white ninja said.
"I know we ruined their last get-together," Cole stated, "But that's no reason not to get an invitation! My feelings are hurt."
Ani gave a small smiled, being around the boys meant for a great time, even if they a bit annoying.
"There's Lloyd!" Kai pointed out the boy, who was sitting forlornly in a cage.
"Oh, and look at who they worship!" Jay said, pointing to a giant statue.
"Let me guess," Ani muttered, "The Great Devourer."
"All the more reason to get Lloyd out of here," Kai pulled out his sword, "This ends today."
His teammates did the same as they ran into the stadium... only for a cage to fall on them. The boys let go of the Golden Weapons, which landed outside the cage. The Serpentine looked their way.
Lloyd gasped and gripped the bars of his cage, "Ani! The ninja!"
Ani groaned and stood up. The boys stayed on the ground, their eyes rolling.
"Looks like we've caught the main event," The five looked up to see Pythor laugh and gather up the weapons, having taken Ani's Energy Gauntlets with his tail.
Half a dozen Serpentine led the ninjas into the stadium. The boys looked at a large set of bars on one side of the stadium while Ani kept a worrying eye on her foster brother.
"What do you think he meant by 'main event'?" Jay asked his eyes wide.
"What do you think?" Ani angrily answered.
"You mean we're the main event?!" Kai groaned.
"Or the main course," Cole interjected.
"Kai, you may be right," Zane said, "Things may come to an end today."
"Ehhh, don't worry," Jay said nervously, "The samurai could still come around to save us!"
"So, you wanted a battle!" Pythor's voice rang out, "And I give you one! I give you... Ninja versus… Samurai!"
The bars suddenly moved, revealing the samurai and his robotic suit. Chains were wrapped around the robot's wrist, but four of the Serpentine quickly took them off. The ninjas stared up at the samurai in horror.
"What? We have to fight the samurai?" Jay yelled in disbelief, "We don't even have our Golden Weapons, and he has that hulking thing of armor! And it's... it's not fair!"
"Since when are the bad guys ever fair?" Ani countered.
"I want to see once and for all," Pythor declared, "Who is the greatest hero! Is it samurai… Or ninja? Only the victor will be allowed to leave!"
"Stay together," Kai ordered.
"Perhaps he can join our team to fight our way out," Zane suggested hurriedly, "After all, he hates the Serpentine, too."
The samurai suddenly lunged out and threw a Frisbee-like weapon at the five. They hit the ground, trying to avoid it.
"Scratch that," Cole said, rubbing his head, "He is not on our team!"
"I've been hoping for this!" Ani stated, putting a fist in her hand, "Now I'm gonna have some fun with this fake hero!"
Cupping her hands, and sent an invisible energy that knocked the exo-suit down, then, like a rag-doll puppet, she shook it left and right, knocked it against three pillars and threw it back into the cage, all with her hand and mind. All that exhausted her though and the samurai got back into the game. The samurai lunged out again, and the ninjas leaped over the robot and landed gracefully on the other side of him. The samurai whipped around as the ninjas pressed together and tossed an S-shaped shuriken at them.
They dodged it, and Jay taunted, "Ha-ha! Missed me!"
Then, with a sharp "CRACK!" the shuriken flew back like a boomerang and hit Jay on the back of his head. The samurai caught it and seemed to grin at them. The five ran back into a group. Cole patted his friend's head before they all struck fighting poses. The samurai took out a huge sword and brought it down on them. Ani, Cole, and Zane dove to one side, while Kai and Jay dove to the other.
He lashed out at the two sides and Zane finally suggested, "Tornado of Creation?"
The other four nodded.
Cole brought a hand to the dirt and spun into his Elemental tornado, "Earth!"
"Fire!"
"Ice!"
"Lightning!"
"Energy!"
"Ninjaaaaa-Go!" The five tornadoes spun together, creating one, giant cyclone of the five elements.
Multiple objects were sucked into the cyclone, including some candy belonging to a Constrictai, until it disappeared. In its place was a giant slingshot and five hidden grins. In the slingshot was a large, spiked rock. The ninjas pulled it back and fired the rock at the samurai, knocking the robot straight into Pythor and Skales. The Spinjitzu users thundered towards the robot and the snakes.
Pythor pulled down on a lever, which made spikes protrude from the ground. The floor tipped dangerously, causing four of the ninjas and the samurai to fall back while Ani just managed to jump to the side. They tumbled down the floor and grabbed at the six spikes at the bottom of the ground.
Cole scoffed, "Can this get any worse?"
"We must continue to make it appear as if we are fighting for real," the samurai said in his metallic voice.
Jay tilted his head, "We're not fighting for real?"
"Keep up the charade. And hold onto my exo-suit."
The boys complied and the robot's rockets fired up. The six began rising into the air, until the rockets began puffing out smoke instead of fire.
"There's too much weight!" Kai yelled.
The robot's torso lowered and the samurai hopped out, allowing his exo-suit, as well as the ninjas, to fly off.
"I can't believe he just saved us!" Cole shouted over the roar of the rockets.
"He stole our thunder again!" Kai exclaimed.
"GAH! I HATE SAMURAI!" Jay screamed.
Pythor and Skales watched as the ninjas spiraled out of sight.
"Go, ninja, go!" Lloyd cheered.
The samurai landed on the stands and punched two Serpentine in the face before jumping onto the ground. Meanwhile, Ani walked behind Lloyd's cage getting ready to unlock the door.
The samurai ran towards Pythor, who quickly grabbed Lloyd and used the boy as a human-shield and yelled, "Get him!"
"Get in line!" Ani shouted having hid behind a column.
Dozens and dozens of Serpentine advanced on the samurai. But, the man had a few tricks up his sleeve... literally.
He pulled up his sleeve, revealing a small watch and said, "Magnetizer activated."
A beam of blue light shot out from the watch and pulled away the five Golden Weapons. The samurai wrapped them up in a blanket and threw his shuriken out. It pressed against a button, causing the floor to move again. Ani jumped him and punched and kicked him quickly and effortlessly. He activated his jetpack and took off but not before Ani grabbed her gauntlets and turned them into her Star-Blitz and flew to find her teammates. The samurai landed on top of the Great Devourer statue and took a bow, then flew away.
"How d'you turn this thing off?" Kai yelled.
The ninjas sped through the cloudy sky before crashing into the sand. Kai tumbled out of sight. Jay, Cole, and Zane landed a few yards from each other.
Jay stood up and looked around. Ani came to their rescue, reverting her ride back into her weapons. Zane had just stood up, and Cole was beginning to do the same.
"Where's Kai?!" Ani shouted to her teammates.
Kai had fallen much farther away than the rest of the ninjas had. He was stuck headfirst in the sand and was struggling to get out. Somehow, the ninja of fire freed himself and looked around.
"Guys?"
Overhead, the samurai's jetpack was starting to break down.
"Wha…?" Kai glanced up, "The samurai?"
He watched as the samurai crash-landed, and ran to him.
"Testing... Testing..." The robotic voice reached Kai's ears as he ran, "One… two..."
The samurai pulled his sparking helmet off, revealing... a familiar female figure.
"Nya?" Kai asked as he saw the short, black hair.
Nya glanced at him and put the helmet back on, "Steer clear, ninja. Don't look..."
Nya tugged the helmet off once again and sighed, "...At me."
"I don't understand," Kai walked towards her, starring in awe, "You're the samurai?"
"It was always a boys' club, save for Ani," Nya set down the helmet.
"Wait," Kai jokingly interrupted, "Ani's a girl?"
Nya smiled and continued, "You never let me try to help. So... I found my own way to be a hero. Are you mad?"
"Mad? Of course not! It's just... all this time, I've been trying to protect you! And, you've never needed it. You're amazing!"
"Girl power!" Nya lightly punched Kai's arm, "You're not gonna tell the others, are you?"
"But, we have a bet! We said whoever caught the samurai would be the Green..." Kai saw the look on Nya's face and he sighed, "Of course, I won't say anything. How did you make all this stuff?"
"You'd be surprised how much spare time I have, waiting for you guys to come back from your missions," Nya gave him the Golden Weapons, "You'd better head back before anyone gets suspicious. We'll have to rescue Lloyd another day."
Kai sighed again, "Ani's not gonna like that. He's part of her family... And, Nya. Whenever I get in trouble, the other four always have my back. But, you... just... be careful, will you?"
"Promise. But I'm gonna have to take a break, Ani really bruised me up."
"Hey, how are you gonna get back?"
"I have my ways."
She picked up her helmet and pushed a button.
Cole, Ani, Zane, and Jay looked around the desert.
"Kai?"
"Kai!"
"KAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIII!" That one was Ani.
"Okay, you win," Jay looked at her, "You can yell his name the loudest and the longest."
Behind the four, the robot whirred to life. It stood up and closed its torso.
"Quick!" Jay yelled as they turned, "Get it! It's gonna get away!"
The rockets roared yet again, and before they could blink, it was gone.
Jay groaned, "Great. Now we lost Kai. The samurai suit is gone. And, Ani's ride can only carry two so we have no way to get home."
His remaining teammates turned while he was ranting and Cole said, "I wouldn't say that."
Jay turned as well and started. Kai was at the top of a sandy hill, gripping the Golden Weapons in his hands. The red ninja waved with Cole's scythe.
"He was all mysterious."
It was night, and the ninjas were getting ready for bed. Kai was telling his friends and his sensei of the samurai while they brushed their teeth.
"Never said a word... Handed me the Golden Weapons and poof! He was gone."
"Poof?" Cole rolled his eyes, "He just poofed?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, Kai," Jay raised his hands, "If the samurai had his hands on the most powerful weapons in the whole wide world, why would we just give them back to you?"
"Mmm, I dunno. Maybe she… Uh, I mean, he's not so bad after all. All I do know is that we owe him our lives. Maybe he's made us all a little better."
"I sense this means the bet is off," Zane noted.
"We don't owe that jerk anything," Ani grumbled, "We could've handled things better if that show-off didn't get in our way."
"More importantly," their master reminded, "My nephew has found his way into the den of all snakes! I fear there may be no way of rescuing him, now."
"Sensei," Kai said, "There always a way."
"And, don't worry," Cole assured him, "We'll find it."
"And get him back," Ani added, "We promise."
The old man smiled and left their room, closing the door behind him. He passed Nya, who was about to step into her own room and handed her a shuriken in the shape of an 'S'.
"I think you forgot this?"
Nya took the shuriken and the sensei went on, "Iron sharpens iron, and sibling sharpens sibling."
Well, I'm not gonna ask if they do rescue Lloyd and discover who the Green ninja is because you can just find out by watching the show, but I have two things to say. 1: starting after the chapter "The Green Ninja" there will be two or three "episodes" that explains more about Ani. And 2: this time I will reveal it. Don't worry, more chapters on the way but tell me what you think, especially with Ani: like her, hate her, know who/what she really is?