The bird led Zane through a forest, stopping every now and then to make sure he was following. Zane paused for a moment, then kept running, only to stop again and gasp, then Harmony bumped into him. "What are you doing here?" Zane questioned. "Following you of course. Can I go the rest of the way with you?" Harmony said. "Sure, but keep quiet." Zane said to Harmony. A brightly lit house-like building was in the process of being built in a tree. Normal at first, then he took a closer look. The Serpentine were the ones working on it. "If I see one in here," Lloyd said from his perch atop a board of wood, "I'm gonna go ballistic." Then, the falcon cried again and Zane and Harmony looked up. It motioned for them to go back and tell his friends. "Thank you, my mysterious friend," Zane said to it.
The next day, Zane led Cole, Jay, Aie Asiko, Melody, Anna, and Kai through the forest, in the direction of the large tree house. Zane paused and looked around "How d'you think Zane knows where he's going?" Kai wondered aloud as they caught up with the white ninja. "So, tell us again how you stumbled upon Lloyd's secret headquarters?" Kai asked Zane. "I followed a bird," he replied. "Why did you follow a bird?" Jay looked confused. "Because it danced," was the answer. "Oh. Okay. Was it a cuckoo bird?" Cole, Jay, and Kai started laughing while Zane looked at them, confused. "Of course not. Everyone knows cuckoo birds are not indigenous to these forests." Zane began running again. The others shrugged and followed him. As soon as they reached the clearing where the Serpentine were, they heard Lloyd shout, "No, bigger! Come on, we don't have all day! It's not time for a lunch break!" "Holy canolie," Cole said. "Frosty was right!" "We can't let that brat, and those snakes get a foothold on Ninjago," Kai said. "We gotta destroy that thing before it becomes operational." Cole said, "Alright guys, what do we do?" "It looks like the entire place is being supported by those three trees." Kai pointed to three large trees on different sides of the tree house. "Once those are severed, the whole place is gonna fall like a house of cards." "But why would one make a house of cards?" Zane asked. "Such construction would be careless." "Oh brother," Kai sighed. "Travel in shadows, boys," Cole said. He flipped towards the tree house and the others followed suit. Aie Asiko and her team just watched in the shadows and Aie Asiko said, "You guys go ahead; we'll be here if you need any backup." "Alright," Cole said.
Kai flipped out from behind a tree, then took out his sword and sliced a rope, flinging himself onto the tree house. Cole grabbed onto the wood at the bottom of an elevator and clung to it as two Serpentine were raised up to the tree house. Jay and Zane were climbing up a tree. Jay landed on a branch and almost lost his balance, but Zane grabbed his wrist and hauled him up. All four ninjas peered through the walls as Lloyd walked around a corner. "It's almost finished," Lloyd laughed. "Having a headquarters in the middle of the forest is a great idea!" Lloyd said. "Nobody knows we're here!" "I wouldn't be so sure of that," she muttered under her breath. She glanced in the direction of the ninjas, apparently finding them. "Soon," her friend went on, "my fortress will be complete. You!" He yelled at one of the Serpentine. It turned. "Hold up that sign!" It complied, holding up a sign that said-
No
Girls
Ninja. Lloyd pulled a lever. The floor under the snake gave way and it fell to the ground below, screaming the whole way down. "Booby trap!" Lloyd yelled down the hole in the floor. The ninjas jumped up through the wooden beams and boards and leaped through the doorway at the top of the tree house. Kai climbed to the very top while Cole, Jay, and Zane ran along the three ropes connecting the tree house to the supporting trees. "Ninjaaaaa-Go!" Jay spun into his tornado of blue lightning and severed the first rope. "Ninjaaaaa-Go!" Zane whirled into his ice tornado and sliced the second rope. The tree house began to fall apart. Boards and ropes crumbled and snapped. Debris fell everywhere. A few stories down, Lloyd looked up and spotted Kai through the wooden beams of the higher levels. "I said no ninja! Attack!" "Everyone!" Skales yelled. "Retreat!" "Cole!" Kai shouted. "Wait 'til we're off the tree house! Then cut the line! Cole nodded and Skales looked up at the sound of Kai's voice. He recognized Cole as the ninja he had hypnotized at Jamonacai Village. "You," he cried, capturing Cole's attention, "will obey my every command!" Cole's eyes turned a deep shade of red. He bowed to Skales and said, "I will obey your every command." "Do you think they need back up?" Anna asked. "No, not yet." Aie Asiko said.
Don't go!" Lloyd begged Skales. "We have to protect my tree house fortress!" "Your tree housssse? Skales hissed. "It'ssss about we did... thissss!" "What?" Lloyd only had time to say that one word before Skales pulled a lever and the floor under Lloyd disappeared, forcing the boy to fall into a cage a few yards under him. He heard the stinging ring of Serpentine laughter in his ears as he fell.
"Let's go," Aie Asiko said, and they started to help the ninja. "Okay, now, come on," Jay said nervously. "Friends don't hit friends." Cole promptly thrust his leg up, kicking Jay in the face. "Ow! Oooh, okay, okay, I'm going to ignore that." Cole then began jumping around the tiny platform, swinging his scythe around. He yelled and struck a board next to Kai's feet, knocking the wooden plank off. "What are we supposed to do?" Kai asked, dodging Cole's hits. "If I use my sword, this place'll go up in flames faster than a tinderbox!" Cole suddenly got in a blow to her stomach, knocking her back. She landed on the pole-like corner of the roof, slid down it, and lay there for a moment, dazed. Then, the wood broke and she fell. Zane lunged out and grabbed her by the feet. He swung her back up, saying, "Jay, use your lightning! Try to shock him out of his trance!" Jay obeyed and took out his nunchucks. He began swinging them around. "Oh, sorry, Cole! This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it's gonna hurt me!" He sent a concentrated ball of electricity at Cole, who fell back and let go of hid scythe. The four hesitated as Cole struggled to get back up. Then, the black ninja opened and his eyes. They were just as red as before. Cole got up and rapidly ran to Jay. He picked him up by his shirt and threw him over the edge. Five cries of "Jaaaay!" were heard. The blue ninja, however, grabbed onto a dangling rope and swung on it. He landed on the outside of the broken tree house and declared, "That is a serious safety hazard!" Cole turned sharply and ran back up the last rope holding up the tree house. He raised his scythe, about to swing. "No, Cole, don't!" "No! No, Cole, no!" Suddenly, the sweet music of a flute reached all of their ears. Cole hesitated for a moment, hearing the flute. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to their normal black. "Wha...? Where am I? What are we doing?" "We're gettin' outta here," the black-haired girl shouted down, "'Cause this whole place is coming down!" With that, Cole leaped from his ledge and landed right behind her. Jay, Kai, Aie Asiko, Anna, Melody, and Zane followed suit.