"Hey guys! We think we found something!" Jay's voice shouts as he and Kai run out of the house and over to Cole and Destiny.
"We think it's a diary of some sort." Kai explains as Jay hands a black leather notebook to Cole. Cole opens the book, and flips towards the final pages.
"Hey, listen to this." Cole says, getting everyone's attention as he begins reading the penned down entry.
"After all these years I never thought I'd see her again-"
"See who?" The blue ninja questions, interrupting Cole's aloud reading.
"If you don't interrupt, maybe Cole could read it to us." Kai states as he rolls his eyes.
"Well excuse me for being curious." Jay argues back with a snarky tone.
"AHEM." Cole clears his throat loudly, disrupting the argument between his fellow ninja before it could escalate.
"On my way home from work yesterday evening I was ambushed by Yuraggi. She and I lost contact years ago, but she told me she was still upset with me for choosing Janissa instead of her. Yuraggi then proceeded to threaten me and my family if I didn't run away with her then and there. Even though I tried to reason with Yuraggi she wouldn't listen, and I was forced to defend myself. Regrettably Yuraggi was able to get away." Cole pauses as he finishes reading the page.
"This Yuraggi girl sounds like trouble." Jay states, leaning over Cole's shoulder to read the pages for himself.
"Yeah, it sounds like she had a thing for Destiny's dad, and got angry when he chose Destiny's mother over her." Kai pieces together.
"Oh, uh. In the next entry your father says he found Yuraggi's hideout. Somewhere in the tunnels underneath upper Ninjago City." Cole adds, looking up from the book and over to Destiny.
"I had no idea my dad was dealing with this Yuraggi person. You don't think that she could be connected to the 'Shapeshifters' do you?" Destiny questions. It seemed like a reasonable assumption, but there were no clear clues connecting the two.
"I'm not sure, but it seems like a pretty good possibility." Cole answers with a unsure shrug.
"Connected or not, I think we should go after Yuraggi. She obviously threatened Destiny's family, so even if she isn't a part of the 'Shapeshifters' directly she might still be associated with them somehow." Kai proposes, beginning to feel antsy. "Plus we have the element of surprise on our side."
"Ba ba ba! Don't go rushing into this Kai!" Jay says, moving to cling onto the Fire ninjas' arm. "You and Zane rescued Destiny, remember? If Yuraggi is connected to the 'Shapeshifters' there's no doubt that they might expect us coming."
"Sorry Kai, but I have to agree with Jay on this one. The ringleader goon you and Zane fought seemed like a high ranking member of the 'Shapeshifters' inner circle. They probably told whoever their boss is that you and Zane swooped in to save Destiny. So it only makes sense they'd assume she's still with us. That's why we've been keeping the Bounty so high above the city." Cole states, closing the notebook and stuffing it into his gi.
"Wait, guys-" Destiny speaks up, a worried looking expression on her face. "My dads journal said Yuraggi was gonna come after me and my mom. If Yuraggi and the 'Shapeshifters' are connected, and the 'Shapeshifters' came after me-" Destiny stops, scared to finish the rest of her sentence. The ninja's eyes widened though as they put together what the yellow clad girl was getting at.
"Your mom-" Cole trails off.
"What if the 'Shapeshifters' got her? I know her and I haven't been on the best of terms but, she hasn't contacted me once since that night the goons tried to kidnap me. I just thought she was busy with work, or forgot! I should've put it together sooner. What if she's seriously hurt? Or worse… what if she-" Destiny begins to panic, but the black ninja firmly grabs her shoulders in an attempt to ground her back in reality.
"Hey, Destiny, take some deep breaths with me okay?" Cole tries to calm down the anxious girl.
"Pixal, I need you to patch us in with Lloyd's team." Kai says hurriedly into his earpiece.
"You are now patched in with Zane." The voice of Pixal informs the ninja as a click sounds through each of their earpieces.
"Zane!" Jay shouts frantically.
"Jay? What is wrong?" The nindroid questions with a concerned voice.
"Zane, we just found out some lady named Yuraggi could be connected to the 'Shapeshifters'. She wanted to go after both Destiny and her mother. Destiny hasn't heard from her mother since the night she was attacked, so we think the 'Shapeshifters' might have gotten to her. Is there any chance you and the others can look for any trace of Destiny's mother in the city?" Kai explains, hoping the nindroid and the others would be able to track down Destiny's mother.
"We hear you loud and clear big brother. We're leaving the school now." Nya informs the red ninja, a second click signaling that the two teams were no longer radioed in with one another.
"Pixal, can you contact Master Wu and Misako? Tell them we're ready for extraction." Jay asks the AI.
"Understood. The Bounty is now inbound on your location." Pixal informs the group.
With Lloyd's team -
"Zane, do you have any idea where Destiny's mother might be?" Lloyd asks the nindroid. The three of them were currently standing on the roof of the 'Ninjago School of Education'.
"Pixal. Can you run a diagnostic for any females in Ninjago City with the last name Pierce?" Zane asks, his request was quickly followed by the AI responding.
"The diagnostic has exhibited two results."
"There is a woman currently taking up residency near the business district in upper Ninjago City. 38 year old Janissa Pierce." Zane informs the others as the search results and information appear in his head.
"Wait. Janissa Pierce? As in thee Janissa Pierce?" Nya asks in shock.
"Who's Janissa Pierce?" Lloyd questions, clearly confused by Nya's reaction.
"Janissa Pierce, aside from being Destiny's mother apparently, is an acclaimed actress." Nya explains as she fangirls a little. "She's been in a ton of movies, and I heard she's even being nominated for a 'Me Fig' award!"
"Nya is correct. Mrs. Pierce's resume also documents that she has been involved in 83 films within the last 20 years of her career." Zane states, causing Lloyd's mouth to drop a little. The green ninja was impressed.
"That is a lot of movies." Lloyd says in awe, clearly not sure how else to react. "Where does your search say Mrs. Pierce was last seen Zane?"
"Most recent sightings of Mrs. Pierce are from the 'Ninjago City Filmmakers Studio'. Apparently she has currently been working on the set of the movie 'The Jellyfish Stings' as one of the main leads in the cast." The white ninja answers, in a matter-of-factly manner.
"Well then, that seems like our best bet. Thank you Pixal.'' Lloyd thanks the invisible AI before turning to run off the roof. "Come on guys."
With their course set, the 3 ninja began running across the rooftops of Ninjago City. Sliding on cables, climbing up fire escapes, and flipping over alleyways until they arrived at their destination. Luckily for them the run had only been a few miles, so they didn't need to sprint across the entirety of the city. Landing on the roof of the filmmakers studio with 3 separate thuds, Nya and Lloyd took a moment to catch their breaths before the green ninja tried turning the doorknob of the rooftop exit. Much to the young teens' annoyance the door did not budge.
"It won't budge. Zane, you think you could get it open?" Lloyd asks, turning to the white ninja.
"But of course." The Master of Ice responds with a smile beneath his mask, moving past Lloyd and placing a hand onto the metal knob.
The knob then began to ice over with a layer of frost until it began steaming from the cold. Satisfied with his work, the nindroid pulled down on the knob, easily breaking it off. With the door now open Lloyd and Nya walked past their friend, and into the stairwell that greeted the group. All of them removing their hoods and masks as they did so.
"I will be sure to forward payment to the studio for the damages." The nindroid states, gently setting the broken knob onto the floor beside the ajar door.
"Thank you Zane." Nya acknowledges, giving the nindroid an approving smile.
"I'm sure the studio will forgive us for the damages later. Right now it's important that we don't waste anymore time. Mrs. Pierce could be in trouble, so every second counts." Lloyd explains as the group descends the stairs.
"The set of 'The Jellyfish Stings' is on floor 23." Pixal informs the group through their earpieces.
"Thank you Pixal." Zane thanks the small form of Pixal within his head.
"Look! The sign over there says 'The Jellyfish Stings'!" Nya points out, gesturing to a movie poster on the wall with a large arrow beneath it.
The 3 ninja followed the directions the various directional arrows pointed them too, and not long after found themselves in a large room with cameras and movie set equipment. Most of the lights were off, save for a few, and only a handful of employees were wandering about. The white ninja notices a closer staff member and taps them politely on the shoulder.
"Excuse me sir, I apologize for the disruption, however we are looking for Mrs. Pierce. Do you happen to know the whereabouts of her current location?" The nindroid questions.
"Oh man, you guys are the ninjas!" The staff member geeks out for a moment, but quickly clears his throat and recomposes himself. "Uh no, sorry. No one has seen Mrs. Pierce for about a week now. If you guys happen to find her, could you let her know the studio is suffering from her sudden leave of absence?" The man informs, a sad frown now on his face.
"We will sir, thank you for your time." Lloyd speaks up, patting the man's shoulder a few times to comfort him before he walks away to continue whatever business he had been attending to prior.
"So no one's seen her for a week? That would place her last sighting here at the studio roughly the same night as Destiny's attempted kidnapping. Just like Kai mentioned." Nya pieces together.
"Zane, there are cameras all around this place. Do you think you or Pixal could try and tap into them to see if there's any footage of the last time Mrs. Pierce was here?" Lloyd asks.
"We can try." Zane acknowledges the green ninja before walking up to a nearby computer setup. After pressing a number of keys and getting internal guidance from Pixal, the robotic duo eventually manage to pull up video recordings of that night from the studio's security system.
"There is Mrs. Pierce." Zane states as the computer screen shows the actress alone in the same room they were in now. The group let the footage run for some time, and it didn't take long for the green ninja to notice slight movement in the shadows behind the actress.
"Wait Zane, pause the video for a second." The nindroid does as the young ninja asks and pauses the video. "Look, there's someone moving around in the background." Now that Nya and Zane noticed the white ninja continued the video.
"Well well well, long time no see, Janissa." The shadowy figure speaks, causing Mrs. Pierce to jump in surprise.
"Who's there?" Mrs. Pierce questions, obviously trying her best not to sound scared.
"Oh, just an old friend ready to settle the score." The shadowy figure responds. Immediately after several other shadowy figures appear, trapping the actress in a large potato sack before tying the top closed.
The ninjas' felt their faces contort in disgust at the scene they were witnessing.
"That went well Ms. Yuraggi." One of the shadowy figures responsible for capturing the actress spoke up.
"What did we talk about Jimmy! It's Boss! If I catch you calling me by my name again I will not hesitate to throw you into the pit!" The original shadowy figure shouts in anger.
"Ms- I mean, Boss. Security is coming this way!" One of the other shadowy figures warns.
"Alright boys, we got who we came for. Let's get out of here." Yuraggi orders, and with that the group of shadows disappeared into the darkness. The moment after they vanished two security guards entered the room, completely unaware as to what had just occurred. The light that spilled into the room from the open door of the hallway was just enough to finally deliver the connection the ninja had been scouring the city for.
"The security guards didn't hear Mrs. Pierce get taken." Lloyd states sadly.
"Unfortunately for Mrs. Pierce you are correct Lloyd. However, this Yuraggi must be the same one Kai mentioned could be connected to the 'Shapeshifters'." Zane points out, recalling the message they had all received from the red ninja earlier.
"I think Zane is right. Yuraggi's goons were sloppy. Look." Nya says as she points to the screen. The light from the hall caught onto the dark sleeve of one of Yuraggi's henchmen, revealing the insignia of the 'Shapeshifters'.
"Now we know who has Destiny's mom, and who was behind Destiny's kidnapping attempt. We need to get back to the Bounty and tell the others." Lloyd states as he straightens out of his position leaned over Zane's shoulder.
"Indeed. However, I fear if Destiny learns this new information that she will become reckless in an attempt to save her mother." The white ninja says with concern.
"I don't blame her." Nya replies sadly.
"That's why we need to come up with a plan, and fast." Lloyd states, moving a hand up to his earpiece. "Pixal, send over the Bounty. We're ready for extraction; and tell the others to wait on the bridge for an emergency meeting."
"Right away Master Lloyd." Pixal responds, and the 3 ninja make their way back onto the roof of the studio.