Chapter 8: Day of the Dragon
The Elemental Masters were deflating Chen's blimp to ensure he would not use it to escape the island. They all cheered as they would make Chen pay for tricking them and having him no way off the island. "Sink the ferry!" Thunder called out. "No one's getting off this island!"
"You got that right!" Gaia agreed as she used her power to command the seaweed to grab and pull the ferry under the water. Rarity had just finished making Landrush and Gaia their new Ninja Gi's since they were out of the tournament.
"The palace and the sleeping quarters are all clear," Flash informed Twilight and the others. "Still no sign of Chen, Grimoire, and Charm."
"What about Topaz?" Trail asked worryingly.
"She wasn't able to pick her family, but she was able to pick her friends," Twilight mentioned as she placed a hoof on Trail's shoulder to comfort him.
"And since you're her friend, Trail, that means so are we," Lloyd added as the others circled him for comfort. "We'll find her."
"They're right," Landrush said in agreement. "With no way off the island, it'll only be a matter of time."
"And there's only so many places they could hide," Rainbow spoke next with a smirk. "And with all of us now together, we can find them faster than I can make my Sonic Rainboom."
Luna and Garmadon then walked up to the Ninja and the Mane Six. "We're proud of you kids," Garmadon said with a smile.
"You've done what the original creatures of Ancient Equestria never could: stick together," Luna said proudly as they smiled back at their elders.
Garmadon then gave a serious look. "But you must not rest on your laurels, for your guard is down when you sleep," he advised them.
"I think they're talking about you, Dashy," Pinkie joked with a laugh.
"Hey! I don't sleep that much!" Rainbow protested, but she saw her friends all looking at her with their brows raised as she looked at them in surprise before giving a sheepish chuckle. "Okay, so maybe I do sleep a lot but not under serious circumstances," she said while rubbing her head while her friends gave her a laugh.
The group all split up to double-search the perimeter while Landrush looked at Gaia. "Hey Gaia, there is something I want to talk to you about," he told her. "It's something that you said when we were in the prisons."
"That'll have to wait, dear," Gaia told him. "We have bigger fish to fry." Just before they head out, Max and Applejack hear coughing before they turn to see Mini doing that.
"Mini!" Max called out and he rushed over to her. "Take deep breaths."
Mini did what her brother told her to do as she slowly took deep breaths and her coughs lightened up before she stopped and took slow breaths while the Ninja and Mane Six looked at her in concern. "Is she alright?" Thunder asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Mini waved off while still taking a breath.
""No, you're not," Max said as he turned to the others.
"Her illness is getting worse. She really needs help and proper medicine for it," Applejack said to them.
"Wait, Max's sister is sick?" Rainbow asked in shock. "How? When?"
"Max told me the true reason for being in the tournament was to get the prize to pay for her treatment," Applejack explained.
"But why would you do that for me, big brother?" Mini asked while looking at her brother.
"Because I messed up," Max responded with his ears folded back. "I tried to help get more money for your treatment but I ended up losing our aunt and uncle's farm in the process. I lost it all to the Flim and Flam brothers."
"Flim and Flam?!" the Mane Six, sans Applejack, all asked in shock by that as they all groaned in annoyance.
"Why those ruffians," Rarity growled.
"You lost it, but why didn't you tell me or our family this?" Mini asked her brother in surprise.
"Because I didn't want them to get caught up in my mistakes. Or that we were gonna lose you," Max said sadly as some tears fell from his eyes. "We already lost our parents. I don't want to lose you too."
Twilight soon walked up to him. "I promise you, once we apprehend Chen and get off this island, I'll do everything in my power to help you." She then looked to his sister. "For now…" Her horn glowed a little as Mini was covered in Twilight's magical aura. "This should mend the pain for a bit."
Mini then sighed in relief as her pain was gone. "Oh, thank you, princess," she said with a bow.
"That's what friends are for," Twilight said with a smile as Max gave a grateful smile at her while looking at Applejack, who was smiling at him with a nod as Twilight then spoke again. "Alright. Let's get going. The sooner we find Chen, the sooner we end this and get home." They all nodded and split up while Max guided Mini to rest.
Somewhere in the forest behind the palace, Dr. Gear, Rivet, and Yah-Karlof are helping Aqua fix up the D.P. Express, the Skychopper, the Roto Jet, and Thunder's mech as well as three stolen Cultist vehicles while Aqua is in the D.B. Express, contacting with their friends back in the mainland.
"The island is secure. We destroyed the Magical Elemental Staff and Chen's attempt to turn his army into Anacondrai has rolled up snake eyes," Aqua said with a smile before she realized what she said. "Uh, no offense, Melody," she said sheepishly.
"None taken. Even if I wanted to see more of my species, I find it disturbing," Melody said as her siblings nodded in agreement.
"Great work, and it's very good to know that Frost is still alive," Wu mentioned after hearing the good news.
"How is Frost at the moment?" Celestia asked.
"He's good," Aqua responded. "A little different, but then again, aren't we all? Before I forget, Rivet would like to join us. She has a real knack for inventing things and I've seen her plans for rebuilding the vehicles the Ninja once had."
"I think that's a pleasant idea," Celestia mentioned as the Falcon moved in front of the screen. "We could use some help with the bounty. It's nearly finished but we're having difficulty powering it up. As soon as it's done, we'll come by to pick you up."
"Me and the others look forward to coming home to see you all," Aqua said with a smile before Frost's Falcon pecked on the screen with a chirp as Aqua chuckled. "Heh, and I know Dr. Gear and Frost will be happy to see you too, buddy."
Meanwhile, in the jungle behind a waterfall, the remaining of Chen's cultists and it's stationed there as they have a few vehicles they manage to save while Chope and Kapau are guarding Topaz, who is chained up in Vengestone behind a wall.
"I hate to admit it, but maybe Chen losing his army wasn't just a bad thing," Kapau said optimistically.
"I know, I was thinking the same thing!" Chope said in agreement.
"Look at us. We're in his inner circle!" Kapau cheered with a twirl.
"And he trusts us to guard his granddaughter," Chope said as he gestured to Topaz, who was listening to them in annoyance as she rattled her chains, which caused them to gasp as they turned to her with their spears aimed at her.
"I have to scratch my face," Topaz said in annoyance as Kapau and Chope looked at her in confusion, since her hooves were tied down, she could not reach them. One of them aimed their spear close to her, which she gently scratched herself with as she then stopped after a moment. "Thank you."
Eyezor heard them as he turned and growled at them, which Chope and Kapau quickly returned to their post.
Meanwhile in the snake pit, Chen was throwing around a bunch of skulls and annoyance while the twins paced around with anger. "We couldn't have asked for a better pet," Grimoire growled. "And that… that animal lover turned her against us!"
"After all we've done for her, she turned on us just because…" Charm snarled. "This is all Luna and Garmadon's fault…!"
"They will pay for all they did to us!" Her brother added in frustration.
"Yeah, yeah, big tears for the big snake!" Chen spoke up with annoyance. "Can we get on with it? The Blade-Copter should be fixed by now and I have to get off this island," he said as he kicked a skull away before turning to the twins. "You two serve me, remember?"
"She's not a snake, Master! She's a serpent," Grimoire corrected firmly.
"And might we remind you our pet wasn't the first to betray us. That was your granddaughter," Charm retorted with a look.
"Leave her out of this!" Chen shouted. "She held up her end of the bargain and used her powers to break them up." The twins then started thinking after hearing that. "It's not her fault she got a little colt crazy at the end."
"That's it! She absorbed all of their powers, along with the Council's magic!" Charm reminded Chen. "How can we be so blind?"
"Of course. We're not blind. We see clearly," Chen responded before he wondered something. "And… what is it that we see so clearly?"
"Master, perhaps there is another way to get what we want," Grimoire spoke up.
"And your granddaughter is the key," Charm added with a sinister smile.
Chen returned to they're hiding place as he was approaching Topaz. "Free her!" he ordered Chope and Kapau.
"Uh, but master, she still has her powers," Chope reminded him.
"And I still have the power to stuff you in a fortune cookie!" Chen retorted back. "Free her now!" Chope and Kapau complied as they unhook the chains on Topaz, who is still glaring at her grandfather. "Topaz, how dare they tie you up. I blame myself for your slip in judgment."
"It wasn't a slip in judgment," Topaz responded with hate in her voice. "The Ninja were right."
"And I was wrong," Chen admitted innocently. "Wrong to steal their powers. Wrong to want to transform myself into a Serpentine. Wrong because you needed a grandfather who is over thousands of years old and I wasn't there when your parents passed on."
Topaz looked at him for a moment and knew this was an act before she realized something. "You think my powers can still turn you into Anacondrai."
"You have absorbed the powers of every Elemental Fighter and the magic of the Council of Friendship," Grimoire spoke up as he and his sister approached them.
"But the staff Crystal was destroyed," Topaz reminded them.
"And that crystal was obtained from the Crystal Caves here on the island, which we can go to now, to complete the spell," Charm finished as Topaz gasped in shock.
"We have everything we need to make everypony happy!" Chen declared excitedly as he rushed up to Topaz. "Isn't that great news!?"
"But this isn't just my power, it's all of it," Topaz pointed out as she walked backward as Chen kept advancing towards her, backing her up against the wall. "Taking everything from me could hurt me. Or worse."
"Heh, no plan is perfect," Chen said with a shrug.
"You care more for your power than your own granddaughter!" Topaz shouted with a glare at him.
"Without power, I'm insignificant," Chen retorted before donning an exaggeratedly sad face. "Is that what you want? An insignificant grandfather?"
"I never had a choice, did I?" Topaz questioned angrily. "You should have never taken off the chains."
Chen then glared at his granddaughter. "Get her!" he ordered.
Kapau and Chope then tried to tackle Topaz, but she did a flip as the two guards fell to the floor. She then used shadow and disappeared and reappeared on a boulder as she glared down at Chen. "You're not insignificant, you're pitiful!" Topaz yelled as she disappeared again.
"How long do I have to listen to these insults?" Chen questioned in irritation. "Will someone please seize her?" he demanded.
Eyezor and the remaining guards then tried to surround Topaz, but she used the power of Gravity to fly around, Zumo then grabbed her hooves, which caused her to flip and fall into a vehicle. Zumo was about to land on Topaz, but she used Smoke to dodge it as she bucked Zumo off the vehicle before she grabbed what looked like a hoverboard as she tossed it down and it started activating. Topaz then jumped on Eyezor and Zumo as she hopped onto the hoverboard and took off.
Grimoire and Charm then started using their dark magic to try and catch her, but Topaz managed to maneuver out of the way as she dodged the magic blasts and went out of the cave. Eyezor and Zumo stood up with a groan as Zumo turned to Chen. "The Blade Copter is fixed. Do you still want to leave the island?" he asked.
"Argh! What do you think?! Chen asked rhetorically. "Course not, I want her!" Soon his henchponies took off on their serpent bikes after Topaz before Chen went over to Kapau and Chope. "Kaput, Flip-Flop, after her!"
"Actually, it's pronounced Kapau and Chope…" Chope corrected as Chen growled angrily.
Kapau quickly grabbed Chope as he dragged him to the two blade bikes as they jumped on and drove off while Charm and Grimoire used the Blade Copter as they landed beside Chen. "Why didn't anypony ever tell me raising a granddaughter would be this difficult?!" he questioned them in frustration.
At the palace, Turner and Grey are guarding the tied-up cultists with Turner holding a spear. "Looks like all the action is over by now," Turner said as he kicked a rock away. "Put me on 'Most Ultimate Extreme Ninja Challenge' and watch me smoke that course. I'll just…" He was cut off when Grey clutched his head while groaning. "What is it?" he asked in concern.
"Topaz's sending me a message," Grey said seriously as he turned to the back of the palace. "We have to tell the Ninja and the Council."
Turner quickly ran into the jungle where the Ninja and the Council had regrouped. "Chen just figured out Topaz's powers can finish the spell," he warned them. "She's in danger!"
"He's replaced his Elemental Staff with the elements in his own granddaughter," Garmadon sums it all up.
"To think he wouldn't stoop any lower," Luna grunted.
"Where?" Trail asked in a worried tone.
"On the other side of the island," Turner answered.
"I'm going after her," Trail immediately said as he jumped onto one of the Blade Cycles.
"We all are," Luna corrected as she turned to the group. "Thunder, Frost, Flash, you take the Mech and Buggy." The three Ninja quickly went to their designated vehicle and prepared to head off. "The rest of us will take the Roto Jet and Skychopper."
"Lloyd, you've got your dragon form," Garmadon told his son before he looked at Aqua. "Aqua, how fast will she go?"
"Fast enough," Aqua answered as she revved up the engine on the D.B. Express.
"Everycreature else stays here and guards the camp," Luna finished.
"Aw, what? Can't we go?" Rainbow asked since she and her friends needed to stay.
"Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but if Chen attacks the palace, you six will need to stay here and guard it with the other Elemental Masters," Luna explained.
"She's right. We need to prepare if Chen tries a sneak attack on us," Garmadon explained.
"Good luck, then," Twilight said before Lloyd transformed into his dragon form and took off. The others then heard Yah-Karlof let out a sigh.
"What's up, big guy?" Pinkie asked him.
"Yah-Karlof wish yaks do that," he told her as he pointed to Lloyd in his dragon form while Turner was amazed by it.
"Don't we all, buddy," Rainbow said in agreement. "I once asked Twilight to turn us into dragons once, but she said no."
"And still not doing it," Twilight piped with a smirk as Rainbow groaned while the others giggled.
"NINJA, GO!" the Ninja called as they took off with their vehicles and mechs, leaving the Mane Six, Yah-Karlof, and Turner behind while Dareth was with two Kabuki.
"So there I was, the Helmet of Darkness at my hoof, destiny in my grasp…" Dareth flirted before he realized the Ninja were gone. "Wait a minute, where'd everypony go?" he asked.
"Yeah, partner. The Ninja just left to search for Topaz just now," Applejack said dully.
"Wait, seriously?" Dareth asked in surprise. "How come you never told me?"
"Um, we didn't mean to bug you?" Fluttershy said sheepishly.
"But let's get back to the palace and keep it guarded," Twilight stated. "Until they get back, we wait there."
"Well, sure thing," Dareth said with a smirk. "Guarding our base is important, like a true Ninja," he boasted as they all walked up to the palace while the Mane Six gave an annoyed look.
"Wish we were tagging along," Rainbow groaned before she muttered "This is gonna be a long day," as they continued their way to the palace.
Meanwhile on the ground, Flash, Aqua, Trail, Thunder, and Frost drove on the path while the rest of their team were above the sky. "Watch out for booby traps. Chen's rigged this whole island," Aqua reminded them.
"Read you loud and clear," Thunder said from behind Aqua while running on his mech as the Ninja continued onward.
Frost took the lead as he drove his buggy at high speed, and he was seeing a warning sign as Pixal spoke. "Be careful, Frost, at this speed, I cannot analyze approaching obstacles," she warned.
"There isn't any time," Frost said to her as he did not see some incoming rocks ahead. "We have to-" Suddenly, he hit the rocks as his buggy flipped over as he started screaming.
"Frost!" Flash called out as Frost screamed as he flung out of his buggy.
Frost hit the floor as he rolled on the ground while his buggy crashed. Frost grunted from the fall as he stood up, but he then tripped on a root. "Whoa!" he yelled again as he fell into a hole as Thunder, Trail, and Flash looked down where Frost fell.
"Frost! Are you okay?!" Thunder called out in concern.
"I'm fine!" Frost called out in assurance as he was now in a cave. "Carry on the mission without me!"
"He'll be alright," Trail said to the two ponies. "We have to stay on Topaz! She's too important!"
Flash and Thunder nodded in understanding as the former took one last look down at Frost. "Frost! When you can, get back to the palace with the others! We'll meet there!"
"I will! Now go!" Frost called as the three Ninja continued their search, leaving behind Frost.
In the cave, Frost took a hard hit as one of his eyes started flickering as he stood up and rubbed his head from the pain. "Perhaps I should've listened to you," he said to Pixal.
"'Perhaps' is an understatement," Pixal said dully to him. Frost looked around the cave as something about it felt very familiar to him as a flash of his dream and an ice cave went through his head. He then heard something coming from the shadows of the cave that sounded very familiar to him before he saw the ice robot dragon emerge from it, roaring as it struggled in the chains.
Frost let out a gasp when he saw it and backed away in fear. "Your anxiety levels are rising. But there is no visible threat," Pixal said in confusion, monitoring Frost when she noticed that he was afraid.
"The Ice Dragon from my nightmare," Frost said in fear. "It's quite visible and quite angry." Through his eyes, he could clearly see said dragon while Pixal could not.
"There is no dragon," she told him. "It's only in your head."
"No. It's going to devour my head," Frost spoke in fear while he continued to back away from it.
"You didn't listen to me last time. Listen to me now," Pixal told him. "We must get out of this hole. There is no dragon."
Frost only backed himself into a wall as all he could see was the dragon from his nightmare.
Meanwhile, in the jungle near the ruins, Topaz is still on her board as she rides at high speed with Chen and his minions on her tail. "Now she's heading east! Now west!" Chen called out as he pointed to a direction as Chope and Kapau turned to said direction.
Topaz continued to make sharp turns to try and escape her grandfather and his followers. She looked behind her and saw that they were still on her tail. Chope turned on the blades on his ride as he was getting close to her. "Whoa!" she gasped when she saw the blades getting close. She quickly made a sharp left turn to avoid the blades with Chope and Kapau following behind.
Topaz quickly turned into smoke as she avoided them as her board went underneath their bikes as Topaz appeared on the other side. Chope and Kapau screamed as they hit the wall with an explosion as Topaz drove off with Eyezor and Zumo following from behind.
Chope and Kapau were left behind as they groaned in pain from the crash. "That war was awesome…" One of them said as he was stuck, upside down in the wreckage.
"I feel more dead than a dead-end street," The other said while in a tree.
Chen glared at where Topaz went too. "Nowhere to run. Setting blast to stun!" he shouted as he was aiming for Topaz. He was about to fire before a blast suddenly hit the copter he and the twins were on. They tried to stabilize it as the blasts kept on coming. "Somepony stop firing at me!" The ones that were firing at them were Landrush and Gaia in their vehicles as they charged right at them. "Take care of them!" he ordered the twins.
All three flying vehicles did evasive maneuvers before Chen and the twins managed to get under them. "I can't see them!" Landrush called out as he could not get a visual on them.
"Neither can I!" Gaia called out. Then the Blade Copter flew over them before Grimoire and Charm jumped out of the copters, with Grimoire landing on the Rotor Jet while Charm landed on the Sky Chopper. "Where did they…? Argh!" Both flying vehicles started experiencing turbulence before they saw the twins messing with them by tearing apart the wing or the blade. "Those sneaky gremlins!"
"Keep them steady. We'll handle this," Luna said as she spoke through the comms. "Garmadon, ready to go outside?"
"I most certainly am, sister," Garmadon said as both he and Luna exited the vehicles as they faced the respective twins.
"Time for a rematch, wouldn't you say brother?!" Charm asked as she was prepared to fight Luna.
"I most certainly would, sister!" Grimoire called next as Landrush and Gaia tried to steady their vehicles as the four ponies outside held on tight from the strong winds. "A bit of a breeze up here!" he taunted.
"I wonder which one of us will stay on their hooves longer?!" Charm mocked.
"How about neither of us!" Luna called as she and Garmadon tackled the twins off the vehicles, falling through the sky while wrestling each other in the air. They soon began to crash through the branches of the trees before they hit the ground. Ignoring the pain from the fall, they quickly got up and faced each other.
"One of these days, your son will have to stand on his own without his dear father," Grimoire growled at Garmadon who cracked his own back.
"Not today!" Garmadon quickly responded as the fight between the four broke out. Luna and Charm faced each other using their magic while Grimoire and Garmadon used their hooves to fight each other.
Meanwhile, Topaz continued to fly on the hoverboard as she struggled to keep it balanced. "Whoa! Ah!" she shouted as Eyezor was getting close to her. But when Topaz turned a corner, Eyezor and Zumo then crashed into another incoming buggy as they crashed into each other, which Topaz saw that the other buggy had Trail on it as he groaned from the crash before Topaz flew to him. "Trail!" she called in surprise when she took off her hood.
Trail got out of his buggy and noticed the hoverboard Topaz was on. "That looks like fun, mind if I join you?" he asked as he took out a hoverboard from the buggy. He jumped on but was having trouble in balancing for a moment before he and Topaz took off while Eyezor and Zumo growled as they were stuck in their crash buggy.
Trail then turned towards Topaz with a smile. "You okay?" he asked before he flipped by accident.
"Faring better than you!" she replied with a small giggle before they saw Chen flying in. The two of them quickly flew off through the jungle with him on their tail. Chen let out a maniacal laugh as he had a sinister smile on his face. "I have an idea!"
"You're reading my mind," Trail told her as they both knew what to do to escape Chen.
"Fire~!" they both sang as they both used fire to create a smoke screen to blind Chen.
"Ah, smokescreen!" Chen called out as he started coughing from the smoke. "No fair!" Soon, he noticed that only Trail was there while Topaz was gone as he flew around him. "Oh! Where did she go? Where did she go?" He looked for any sign of his granddaughter. "Oh, turn around."
The Blade Copter turned around and flew off in another direction, leaving Trail behind. But when he was far enough, Trail gave a laugh before he flipped his board around, revealing it to be Topaz, who used the Power of Form to trick him. She then flew down to where Trail was hiding and hopped off her hoverboard before the two of them shared a hug together. "I alerted the team we found you and are heading back," he informed her.
"Are we in the clear?" she asked with a smile.
"I guess," Trail replied as they started to walk back to the others. "Hey, this is a pretty cool place, by the way," he commented while gesturing to the ruins.
"You want to play tourists?" Topaz joked, unaware that they were being watched.
"No, no. You're right," Trail told her. "Let's get back to the good guys. They are all waiting for us."
Suddenly, a net was fired right on top of them by both Chope and Kapau as they were on top of a roof. "Kapow! Ha, ha, Venge-net!" Kapau declared.
Chope started cheering as he and Kapau did a victory dance. "Let's see you work your powers and magic on that!" he mocked Trail and Topaz, who were struggling to break free from the net. The two of them then jumped down from the roof as they kept taunting them. "This is awesome!"
Back in the jungle, Luna and Garmadon were getting the upper hand on both Charm and Grimoire. The twins launched a ball of dark magic at the two as Luna and Garmadon quickly dodged them and glared at the twins. "You both are going to have to do better than that if you want to get rid of us!" Garmadon told them before he and Luna charged and traded blows with the twins. It seemed that all of them were a match for each other before they jumped and knocked each other back with a kick to the guts.
"Even after all these moons, you both will never grow up!" Luna mocked the two. "Using the same old tricks just to get an advantage!"
"I have other things up my sleeve!" Grimoire declared before he was reciting a familiar spell before striking the ground. The spell he cast turned into a Vortex that was trying to swallow the four of them up.
"Brother, what have you done?!" Charm shouted as they were holding on to something from being sucked in. "You opened the portal to the Curse Realm! Have you gone mad?!" she yelled in shock.
"Garmadon banished the Anacondrai Generals there!" Grimoire called. "It's time he and Luna answer to them!" They all held onto something as the portal grew stronger as Luna fought against the pull of the portal with her wings while holding onto Garmadon while the twins held onto vines as Luna was being dragged in before Garmadon grabbed a vine as well to help strengthen their hold.
"You coward! Letting dead generals do your dirty work!" Garmadon yelled.
"And at the cost of nearly being pulled through just to get rid of us!? That's a fool's move!" Luna yelled next.
"You grow wiser in your years, Garmadon!" Grimoire shouted as he and his sister held on to a vine while the vine Luna and Garmadon were holding onto started to break. "There's nothing to save you or Luna! Take in your last moments, Lord Garmadon and Nightmare Moon, and know it was I who defeated you both! And I will take your title Garmadon! I, Lord Grimoire!"
"Wow, you really lost it, brother!" Charm called. "While I wanted to rid of those two as much as you, this is way too extreme, even for us!"
"But it doesn't matter what we do! Like Chen said, we do what we must to win at any cost!" Grimoire retorted.
"Seriously?! Are we still doing this?!" Charm asked in annoyance as the twins started arguing with each other.
Garmadon and Luna then saw this opportunity to get out and stop them. "There's one thing we have learned when we were evil, is that monologuing lets your guard down!" Garmadon told the twins as he and Luna quickly jumped and used the vine that broke off to wrap around the twins' legs.
"Never rest on your laurels!" Luna added with a glare.
The twins gasped as their vine broke and they were dragged along to the portal with Luna and Garmadon hanging onto it. "You fools! You're pulling us both in!" Grimoire called.
"You'll doom us all!" Charm yelled next as she and Grimoire held onto the edge of the portal while Luna and Garmadon climbed up to them.
"Wrong, just the two of you!" Garmadon corrected before he and Luna bucked the twins into the Vortex with a scream before it closed.
"I've always despised dark magic," Luna said dully as they both took a breath.
"You and me both, sister," Garmadon said in agreement while rubbing his head.
Back in the cave where Frost is, he is still back to the wall while still seeing the Ice Dragon that is not there. "But it's there. Right in front of me," Frost said fearfully as the Ice Dragon roared at him.
"You are not afraid of dragons. You are friends with many and you used to ride one," Pixal said to him, still not seeing it since it was all part of Frost's fear.
"I'm afraid of this one," Frost said while clutching his head before he sat down. "And my memory doesn't remember everything from my past."
"You must remember who you are," Pixal said softly to him. "You are the White Ninja."
"I am not the White Ninja. I am just a replica," Frost said to her as he kept seeing the dragon. "I am afraid." He soon shot his ice powers at the dragon.
"You are the Ninja of Ice," Pixal said to him as Frost kept shooting his powers at the dragon.
"But my powers can't stop him," Frost told her as he kept shooting the dragon, when he was just shooting the ground.
"Because there is nothing there," Pixal told him as he stopped. "It is all in your head. Close your eyes. Close your eyes and see there is nothing to fear." Frost did what she asked and closed his eyes. Even with his eyes closed and could not see the dragon, he could still hear its growls and roars.
"But I hear him," he told her.
"What else do you hear?" Pixal asked as Frost could hear a heartbeat.
"I am not the White Ninja," Frost told her with a sad tone. "I am not the White Ninja." In his head, Pixal walked up to him.
"Who are you then?" Pixal asked him.
The dragon kept growling as Frost opened his eyes and took in a deep breath with a confident look on his face. "I am the Titanium Ninja!" he declared as in his eyes the Dragon smiled as it nodded its head. "I am the Titanium Ninja!" He then saw the Dragon lay down on the ground with the chain vanishing off its body. Frost then had a smile on his face as he approached the dragon and began to pet its head. "And you are not here."
"Yes. Anxiety levels are going down," Pixal informed Frost as the ice dragon backed away and disappeared before she noticed something happening. "But the elemental reactor levels are rising! Frost, the readings inside of you are through the roof!"
"I am the Titanium Ninja!" Frost declared as his whole body glowed bright in an ice-blue glow.
Back at the Temple, the Ninja returned with Eyezor and Zumo tied up as they gave him to Yah-Karlof, who lifted them up. "Still no sign of Chen?" he asked them.
"He escaped, but we'll find him," Landrush said to him.
"But did Frost ever return?" Gaia asked.
"My son? We haven't seen him for a while," Dr. Gear said as she walked up to them in concern. "Is he okay?"
"We saw him get stuck in a cave during the search and told us to carry on without him," Aqua explained. "Do you think he's still stuck?"
Soon Luna and Garmadon returned as they spotted them coming around the corner. "Dad!" Lloyd called out as he ran towards his father before the two of them hugged each other.
"We don't see Topaz or Trail," Luna mentioned as she noticed they were not there.
"They said they were on their way," Shade informed Luna and Garmadon before the two of them let out painful groans.
"Luna, what's wrong?!" Twilight asked before they saw their tattoos start to glow.
"We don't know…" Garmadon responded through his pain.
"Your tattoos," Flash pointed out.
"I can hear something!" Soundwave spoke up. "It sounds like ancient words being recited!"
"S-Something inside of us!" Luna exclaimed as she felt something happening. "Something is happening to us." Twilight then started to piece together, what Soundwave said and the glowing tattoos.
"It's the spell!" she shouted with worry. "Chen must have captured Topaz and now is completing the spell!"
Somewhere in a Crystal Cave, both Topaz and Trail are chained up while Kapau and Chope read the spell from the page they obtain from the book.
"'Trayeaux, keelie, neptide'," Kapau recites as Topaz groans and struggles to break free since she can feel the spell affecting her powers.
"No!" Trail cried out as Kapau cleared his throat.
"'Eek, mojo', uh…" Kapau muttered while trying to sound out the words. "Gloop?"
"Not Gloop! Glop! Glop!" Chope corrected his partner.
"Um…" Kapau then turned to Chen. "Master, shouldn't Grimoire or Charm be reading this?" he asked since the spell was tricky to sound out.
"It doesn't matter! They're not here!" Chen stated since he heard and saw that Charm and Grimoire were defeated and banished to the Curse Realm. "Keep reading!"
"Oh, okay," Kapau said before he continued to read the spell. "'Trayeaux, keelie, neptide.'"
Chen could feel his body in pain as a sign that the spell was working as magic swirled around him. "It's working. It's working!" he told them through his pain. "Finish the spell!"
Kapau however felt the pain of course through his body and could not continue reading the spell as he handed it to Chope.
"'Vein, donner, klactu, barnato'," Chope read as Trail looked towards Topaz who was slowly changing into something else.
"Trail, don't look at me!" she told him as her coat turned purple as scales formed on her body.
"Fight it, Topaz! Fight it!" Trail urged as he used his fire to burn the chains. Topaz struggled to fight the spell as her lower hooves turned into a tail.
"I… I can't!" she cried out as her own tongue became a Serpent's Tongue while her front hooves turned into claw-like hands. She was not the only one, as Chen had also transformed into an Anacondrai along with Chope and Kapau.
"Now I am the most powerful warrior to ever rule Equestria!" Chen declared as the transformation was complete, while he let out a maniacal laugh.
Back with the others, Garmadon and Luna had transformed into Anacondrai right in front of them as they were breathing heavily. "The ssspell…" Garmadon spoke with a hiss like a snake. "The ssspell, it'sss completed."
"If Chen completed it, then anypony with the mark of the Anacondrai isss affected," Luna said with a hiss as well as the others looked at them in horror.
"No," Lloyd said in horror of his father's transformation.
"Luna," Twilight said slowly at the former Princess of Night.
"Don't worry. We're alwaysss on your ssside, ssson," Garmadon assured them as he placed a snake claw on his son's shoulder.
"Our bodiesss may have changed, but our mindsss are ssstill the sssame," Luna said to them with a smile.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but did you both say anypony with an Anacondrai tattoo is now an Anacondrai?!" Gaia asked in shock. "That means…"
Luna and Garmadon stood up as they turned to the captured cultists, who were now becoming Anacondrai as they broke free from their ropes.
"Let's get 'em, team!" Landrush declared as the Elemental Masters charged at new Anacondrai. Tox was the first to strike as she tried to use her power on a group of them, but they seemed unaffected by her poisonous cloud.
"Uh, they're immune to poison!" Twilight called out in worry before firing a laser at another but it bounced right off. "What the-?! They're immune to magic too?!"
"Well let's see if they can stand their ground!" Flash exclaimed as he blew a powerful wind right at them. However, they were able to withstand it and were able to slither towards them. "Okay, so they can stand their ground."
Landrush ran up to his jet, but then an Anacondrai came up from it as he jumped down in front of Landrush. He tried to punch him with his hoof, but it was caught and he could feel the pain of the tight squeeze from it. "They're too strong!" he called out before he was used to knock Gaia back and was thrown into the others.
Turn and Rainbow Dash then faced two of the Anacondrai as they sped around it very fast as they tried to land a punch on either one, but they were quick to block each strike, no matter how fast they were. "They're too fast!" Turner called in shock.
"Way too fast for my level!" Rainbow added before she and Turner were tossed away.
"And they're too many!" Shelley shouted as they were outnumbered.
"Everyone, retreat!" Twilight called out as she and Luna tried to push some back. "Get to the palace!"
"Everycreature, to the palace!" Lloyd called next.
Yah-Karlof knocked a few of them back before he saw a few slithering along the wall like spiders or something. "Retreat!" he shouted. "Everycreature retreat!"
"Behind you!" Grey warned Shade after reading one of their minds. Shade then knocked one back before it could get him as Turner quickly ran and pushed the rest of them from getting too close.
"Come on!" Shade shouted as they ran to the gates. Once they were all inside, they quickly closed the gate as Thunder took off his hood while panting heavily. He then looked up and saw Garmadon and Luna as they are now.
"Snakes among us!" he exclaimed as he was about to attack them.
"No, don't!" Fluttershy told him as he stood in front of him. "It's Garmadon and Luna!"
"Really?!" Thunder complained before he looked at Garmadon. "First it was an alicorn with six hooves, then you became a dragon centaur. Would you mind picking a body and sticking with it, please?!"
"Oh, will you stop complaining, Thunder!" Applejack yelled. "Like they could control what would happen!"
Landrush and the others struggled to keep the door shut as the Anacondrai started banging on it. "Could use a little help. Argh," he groaned to them. They all pressed against the door to keep the mutant Anacondrai from getting in.
Back in the Crystal Caves, Kapau and Chope looked over each other and were amazed by their new looks. "Oh, man. Look at you!" Chope told Kapau. "You've got a snake tail, ha, ha!"
"No! Look at you!" Kapau spoke next while pointing at Chope. "You've got fangs!"
"You know what I'm thinking?" Chope asked him with a smirk.
"We're going to need cooler names!" they both said together as they gave a laugh, but then a fireball nearly hit them as they gave a startled scream and turned to Trail, who was now free with his hooves lit on fire.
"You're both still ugly!" Trail snapped as he threw a fire ball at Chen. "Fire!" he called, but his fire did not hurt Chen in the slightest as he just shrugged it off.
"You think a little fire can hurt the thick hide of an Anacondrai?" Chen questions in amusement before he tunnels beneath the floor as Trail looks around for any sign of him. But with his back turned, Chen appeared behind him as he whacked Trail to the floor with his tail.
Topaz managed to get free from her chains before tackling Chen away from Trail. "We mussst get out of here," she told him as she offered a hand up.
"Let's do this," Trail said as he took her hand before they made their way out.
"SSShould we, uh, ssslither after them?" Kapau asked Chen, who got up from the ground.
"Why? They're no longer important," Chen told them. "It'sss time we leave thisss wretched isssland!" he declared.
Back at the palace, the others are still holding the door as the Anacondrai are still trying to bust through the door as their weapons poke through the doors. "Does anypony know any knock-knock jokes? 'Cause this ain't funny anymore," Landrush said.
"Sorry. I don't even have one. Which is scary," Pinkie said fearfully. "I just wish they would go…" She trailed off as everything went quiet and the door stopped banging. "...away?" Pinkie finished confusedly.
Once the Alliance realized the Anacondrai stopped, they moved away from the door. "Where did they go?" Aqua asked confusedly.
Landrush was about to creak the door open, but Thunder quickly stopped him. "Don't! It could be a trick!" he warned him.
"Soundwave, you hear anything out there?" Flash asked before Soundwave pressed his ear against the door.
Soundwave's ear flicked and his eyebrows rose. "I hear engines powering up," he said as they all soon went up to the roof to see what he meant before they saw them using the jets to fly, even the Skychopper and Roto Jet with Chen in the Roto Jet.
"Take care of the island, it's yoursss," Chen called with a smirk. "We'll be taking Equessstria now!" He soon fired at them before they quickly took cover. After that warning shot, Chen let out a maniacal laugh as he and his army soon took off to Equestria.
Thunder stammered in disbelief. "This, this is just priceless!" he stated. "He took the Roto Jet, Skychopper, and all of the blade copters!"
"What have we done?" Lightning Dust asked as they realized the mistake they made.
"We all have families in Equestria and beyond," Turner said in despair.
"Argh! And we had to destroy any other way off the island!" Thunder complained as he paced back and forth. "Whose idea was that?!"
"Your father and Luna were right, guys," Flash said to Twilight and Lloyd. "We thought we had the upper hoof. Our guard was down and look what happened."
"Nocreature listens to me! You all say I overreact, but no!" Thunder kept complaining before Gaia quickly shoved her hoof to his muzzle as he turned to her, who was glaring at him.
"Thunder. I swear that if you don't stop complaining, I'm going to make you!" Gaia threatened with a glare.
"I'll go alone," Lloyd said as he stepped up.
"And take on all those Anacondrai by yourself?" Twilight asked in shock as the Anacondrai were able to bet them all back without so much as breaking a sweat.
"That's nuts, even for me." Rolling Thunder admitted.
"But I'm the only one who can transform into an Elemental Dragon," Lloyd reminded them.
"Not anymore!" Frost called out before they all looked up and gasped when they saw a robotic ice dragon flying towards them.
"Frost? Is that you?!" Flash asked in shock.
"Who else would it be?" Frost asked as his voice spoke through the robotic ice dragon.
"Robot pony turn into dragon too?!" Yah-Karlof said in awed.
"Oh, Frost, none of us could do that before!" Thunder said in awe.
"Did you program him to do that?!" Pinkie asked Rivet.
"No, but I wish I did!" Rivet admitted.
"I didn't even see my son do this before." Dr. Gear said in amazement.
"You gotta tell us how you did that!" Thunder asked him.
"I faced my fear," Frost explained while clenching a fist. "When I realized it wasn't something in front of me that held me, but something inside me. I found a deeper power. An Inner Dragon Power!" He spread his dragon wings with his declaration.
"All right!" Landrush shouted excitedly before they heard another dragon roar coming towards them. They looked to see a Fire Dragon flying by with Topaz sitting on its shoulder. "Trail, is that you?!"
"Yes. It's me. And Frost's right," Trail spoke as he flew in. "We all have this power inside of us. But you have to see that it's not the Anacondrai we're afraid of, it's our doubt," he said as he flew around while the Alliance started cheering. "Divided, we failed. But together, we will succeed!"
"Light!" Lloyd jumped off as he transformed into his dragon form with his father and Luna on his back.
"Wind!" Flash called as he jumped next and transformed into his dragon form with Twilight and Starlight riding on his back.
"Life!" Gaia called out next as she transformed into her dragon form with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy riding her back.
"Lightning!" Thunder called next as he jumped and transformed into his dragon form next while having Rainbow Dash, Aqua and the Washouts on his back.
"Earth!" Landrush shouted as he jumped off and transformed into his dragon form with Rarity and Applejack riding on his back.
"Metal!" Yah-Karlof declared as he jumped and transformed into his own dragon form.
"Energy!" Max called as he jumped and transformed into his dragon form with his sister Mini on his back.
"Speed!" Turner jumped next as he transformed into his dragon form as the others did the same.
"Mind!"
"Shadow!"
"Void!"
"Poison!"
"Null!"
"Form!"
"Smoke!"
"Sound!"
"Gravity!"
One by one, every Elemental Master turned into their elemental dragon forms, as they went into formation and flew away from Chen's island with Spike and Smolder flew next to them. "Metal Dragon Form make Yah-Karlof very happy, happy," Yah-Karlof said very joyful to be a dragon.
"The battle of our passst hass returned," Garmadon spoke as he and Luna rode on Lloyd
"But we will rissse to meet that challenge," Luna declared.
"Chen brought us here so that only one can remain," Flash spoke up as they all flew in formation. "Well, we are one!" he declared.
Pinkie then perked up. "Uh, why do I feel like we're forgetting something?" she asked. They all looked at each other and just shrugged. "Wait, where's Dareth?"
"Hey! Wait up!" Dareth's voice called out as they all turned and saw Dareth on the roof of the temple along with the Kabuki servants and the Anacondrai Serpent. "What about us?!" he called.
The Masters-turned-Dragons all groaned as they realized what they had forgotten. "Right. We forgot about him, the Kabuki, and the Serpent," Twilight said sheepishly. "Uh, we better turn back and pick them up."
"Well, we better hurry. Because Chen already has a head start on us," Thunder said to them.
"Remember our oath: No friend left behind," Flash said as they all turned around and flew back to the island to pick up Dareth, the Kabuki, and the Serpent as fast as they could.