Many minutes later, the Ninja were following Gewuji as she was leading them along to try and find the mech before they stop upon hearing beeping. "The signal's very faint." She said. "Must be some interference or something."
"Maybe it's the cold." Blake replied.
"Or the beacon on the mech is-" Immediate growling cuts Jay off when they all turn right to see the wolves had returned.
"Oh, great!" Nya sarcastically said.
Geoff immediately groaned out of fear. "Give me a big fat break!" He said.
"I'm getting a little tired of this!" Kai said.
"Yeah, I think I'm done running." Cole said. "What do you say, guys?" They all poise as Geoff reluctantly did so as well, but started to hyperventilate.
"Here they come!" Jay yelled before they all put their hoods on.
The wolves then charged at them. "Let 'em have it!" Lloyd yelled as he conjured some Energy and fired at a wolf, knocking it back as another one comes onto him, making him roll back with it before he puts his feet on the ground to kick it while getting back up, sending it flying to a nearby stump.
Several wolves come at Geoff and Gewuji before Geoff started to back away, holding up his hands. "Stay back!" He yelled, threateningly, but still a little scared. Gewuji quickly conjures Glass spikes before throwing them at the wolves, hitting some of them. Geoff soon growled before immediately firing a burst of Sand at the remaining wolves, knocking them down as the other wolves get back up. Lloyd then turned to fire another Energy shot at a wolf on top of a rock as another one charges at Jay and Nya. Jay quickly conjures some Lightning and holds out his hands to the wolf, firing the shot at it, causing it to yelp.
One wolf comes at Blake and bites into his prosthetic. "Get off!" He yelled, slapping it away before holding out his arm, firing a gust of Wind at it, sending it flying into a couple more.
Another wolf then charges at Jay and Nya, ramming Jay back, then knocking Nya aside, making her land on the ground before she gets back up and holds out her hands. "Nya, use your powers!" Kai called out.
"I'm trying, but nothing's happening!" She replied.
"We're surrounded by water!" Geoff yelled as he came up next to her.
"It's all frozen!" Before the wolf could come at her, a couple of arrows hit the ground nearby, scaring the wolf and it takes off. Another few arrows hit a rock, scaring off the rest of the wolves and they quickly take off. The Ninja soon turn around to see some people in snow gear. Two of them had bows, being the ones who scared off the wolves, while the woman holds a spear. She soon waved her hand, indicating that they should follow them before walking away, and they do so.
They follow the three strangers along a really frozen lake before coming across a village. They move along it with everyone completely astonished before they come up to a hut in the centre of the village. The villager in front of them opens the door, and they all peek in to see an elderly woman, in snow gear, sitting by a fire. "Come, come, warm yourselves." She said, waving her hand to them.
They immediately came inside and sat down around the fire while Nya and Blake remain standing, completely relieved. "Thank you!" Kai replied.
"Thank you!" Blake said.
Jay sighs as he held his hands out. "That feels good." He said.
"I can feel my fingers again." Gewuji said.
"Who are you?" Nya asked. "What is this place?"
"Oh, this is my home." The woman replied. "I am Sorla, of the People of Great Lake. Who are you? Where do you come from?"
"Far away." Lloyd said.
"Beyond the forest?" Lloyd nods, surprising the villagers that escorted them. "Beyond the mountains?"
"Yes." Lloyd stands up as his answer surprises the villagers again. "We come from..." He felt reluctant to tell her. "...from a place called Ninjago. We're looking for a friend of ours. His name is Zane."
"Oh, we have seen no one for many years. We are the last tribe on the ice. The others have all fled south, and soon, we too must go. The cold grows too strong. The ice, too thick. But perhaps, Sorla can help." She picks up a nearby bowl. "Look, come." Lloyd sits back down. "Look into the Hearth Fire." She grabs a handle of powder from the bowl and throws it into the fire, making it turn green. "Tell me again the name of your friend?"
"Zane."
"And the place from which he came?"
"Ninjago." Nya said.
"Show us, spirits of the earth, spirits of the lake, show us the fate of Zane from Ninjago." The Hearth Fire soon bursts some smoke, showing a castle in it, astonishing the Ninja.
One of the villagers with an ushanka soon gasped. "The Emperor!" He said.
"The Castle of Ice!" Another villager with a beard replied as Lloyd turned to them, confusingly.
"I..." Sorla was a little reluctant to speak as Lloyd turns back to her and the Hearth Fire turns back to normal. "I am sorry for your loss."
"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.
"You can not save your friend." Sorla soon stood up. "He has been taken prisoner by the Ice Emperor."
"'Ice Emperor'?" Blake asked, a little confused.
"For decades, he has ruled this realm, crushing all who stand in his way. His Ice Castle is on the other side of the mountains. A bitter, foul place where the ice is corrupt. A place we do not go."
"Zane is there?" Lloyd asked before standing up. "In this Ice Castle?"
Sorla nods. "Can you show us the way?" Geoff asked.
"You cannot!" Sorla replied. "It is too cold! The ice there is evil. Dark Ice! No one goes there but the emperor and his Blizzard Samurai. And they are inhuman. Only a fool would go there." She then lowered her head before turning away. Your friend is lost." Lloyd soon frowned.
"No." He said. "I refuse to believe that. Zane is strong." Kai soon stood up. "I know him. And he would never give up on us, and we're not gonna give up on him!" Geoff and Gewuji soon stood up.
"Yeah!" Kai replied, agreeing with him.
"Yeah!" Cole said, coming between Kai and Nya.
"Yeah!" Geoff said.
"Yeah!" Blake said.
"And if you think we're not fools, you've got another thing coming."
"Ninja never quit." Nya said to Sorla.
She turned back around. "All of you speak as one?" She asked.
"We speak as one." Lloyd replied.
"Your friend is very fortunate. But be warned. The emperor's general, Vex, sees many things. The Dark Ice serves him. If he knows you are here, he will warn the emperor."
They were starting to get worried. "Vex?"
"He will send his samurai. They feel nothing. They fear nothing. They will come for you."
Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of the mountain, in the castle from Zane's visions, a samurai, dressed in maroon samurai gear, walks along a corridor before stopping to look at some sort of crystal, showing the Ninja and Sorla in Sorla's hut before smirking. He prepares to enter behind some doors before another samurai stops him by holding out his spear. "The emperor must not be disturbed at this time." He said.
"I bring a warning, Prinz." The samurai replied. "A warning that might be a danger to the emperor."
"Do as you will, Vex." Prinz moves aside for Vex to enter through the doors.
In what appeared to be a throne room, Vex comes towards the throne where at the top of some stairs between some ice pillars, a person in samurai gear, holding some sort of sceptre that was fused to his hand by ice, was sitting before stopping and kneels before him. "My emperor."
The Ice Emperor sighs before looking down at Vex. "Why do you disturb my thoughts?" He asked.
"I bring a warning, my emperor. Strangers, from a distant realm come to challenge you. They may be here for the prisoner and to defy your rule."
The Ice Emperor struggles to stand up, being bound by ice before eventually breaking free and stands up. "They must be... punished."
"They must be destroyed. Show them your might." The Ice Emperor sits back down. "Show them what happens to those who defy the emperor."
"Send my Ice Samurai. Command them to destroy the strangers."
"And all who aid them."
"Yes. And all who aid them."
Vex turns around. "As you command."
Out in the corridor, Vex exits the throne room before turning to Prinz. "Prinz, you know what to do. Inform your father."
"As you wish." Prinz soon walks away while Vex smirks.
A few minutes later, a group of samurai, lead by Prinz and a samurai wielding an axe, march out of the castle.
Somewhere out in the woods a few hours later, the two villagers who saved the Ninja were carrying a bamboo stick with fish hooked up to them while walking. "Do you think they like to eat fish?" The villager with the ushanka asked.
"Who?" The bearded villager asked.
"You know, the strangers. From Ninblahgo."
"Everyone likes fish. And it's not Ninblahgo, it's Ningabo."
The ushanka villager thinks for a bit. "That's not what they said."
The bearded villager sighs. "Honestly, Uthaug, whose hearing is better? Yours or-" Sounds of marching was soon heard, making them come to a complete halt with a fish hitting the bearded member. The marching turned out to be the Blizzard Samurai. "Listen, do you hear?" They start to look around.
"Blizzard Samurai, heading our way."
"We have to warn the village." Uthaug quickly takes off while the bearded villager quickly puts the stick over his shoulders as he went to catch up with Uthaug.
As the Blizzard Samurai march, crows were heard as the axe wielding samurai turned to see them flying away. "What is it, father?" Prinz asked, coming up to him.
"Nothing, son." He replied before they resume marching.
In Sorla's hut at the Great Lake, Sorla shows Lloyd a map. "Your friend, Zane, is imprisoned here, in the Ice Emperor's castle." She said, pointing to where the castle is. "There are only two paths through the mountains." She then points to a trail. "This is the safest."
"A pass?" Lloyd asked as Sorla heads to the Hearth Fire.
"In the Old Tongue, it is called, 'Mala-Wojira.'" She turned back to him as she said it.
"Mala-Wojira?"
"Wojira's Wrath. But you must be careful. You cannot make a sound in this place. You cannot speak or whisper. Even your footfalls must be like a gentle breeze."
"Why?"
"If you make a sound, Wojira will strike you down."
"Okay, but what is it?" She inhales some air before exhaling to make an example. Lloyd was immediately confused. "Okay, great, well, I guess we'll just be quiet." He rolls up the map and puts it in his pocket.
Outside, Blake was leaning on a nearby tree, arms folded, completely in melancholy for losing the Traveler's Tea. He soon heard giggling as he looked to his right to see a young boy run along the snow, chasing three other kids as two women, who held each other's hands watch them. As they ran, Blake smiled a little, reminding himself of what his future would even be like. "Can't catch us, David!" One of them said. Suddenly, the boy ends up tripping and nearly falls before Blake quickly held his hand out, blowing Wind in the boy's direction and preventing him from hurting himself as he was immediately back on his feet. The kids he was chasing turn to him, confused before they look to their right at Blake, who had swiftly turned around as the two women approach them, concerned for David.
"What was that?" David asked.
Close by, Kai and Jay had some sort of skis on, Cole was leaning back, Nya and Gewuji look at the tracking device, Geoff was doing squats and Gewuji tries to adjust the tracking device, but nothing works. "Come on." She muttered before shaking it a little.
"Hey, easy." Nya said, stopping her as Lloyd came out of the hut and approached them.
"Any luck?" He asked.
"Nothing." Gewuji replied as Lloyd kneels down. "It's really weird. The signal keeps coming in and out."
"Huh. Maybe the cold is interfering?"
"Cold shouldn't matter. It's like the signal is weak."
"But the mech had a brand new battery." Nya said. "It makes no sense."
"Hey, guys." Kai called out as they all turn to him and see him running around on the skis. "Have you tried these? You gotta try them. You can walk on top of the snow."
"I think that's the point." Cole replied.
Jay soon came up next to him. "What will they think of next?" He asked before laughing.
"Alarm, alarm!" Uthaug called out as everyone turned to see him and the bearded member come up to the villagers. "They're coming!" The villagers start to become concerned before they start to crowd them and the Ninja join in. "Blizzard Samurai. On the march."
"Heading for our village." The bearded member said. "We saw them coming down the pass."
Uthaug then raised his hand. "I heard them first. Boma's hearing isn't as good as-"
The bearded member comes at him. "Don't start that again!"
"Boma, Uthaug!" Sorla called out as they turned to see coming to them. "Are you sure you saw this? You saw them?" They both look at each other before nodding, half-lying. "Gather the elders. There's no time to lose."
(A/N: That moment where Blake saved the child from tripping and the two women holding hands were done at the last minute. The two women holding hands is meant to show my respect for Pride Month)
