"Did that just…happen?" Kai asked.
No one answered him—although that was probably because the half breed's full attention was now on them.
They're going to kill us! Lloyd realized, just like they'd done to the Emperor. And… not to mention this was a very big turn of events. Lloyd had not planned on the other half breeds to show up…and if they hadn't, they would probably be dead.
"Guys—" Before Lloyd could call the retreat, a half breed kicked him in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. Lloyd gasped, trying to get air back into his lungs.
The half breed lifted his sword, intending to plunge it into Lloyd.
Lloyd lifted his hands, power igniting in them, and blasted the half breed back. He scrambled to his feet, barely managing to deflect another half breed's sword.
A few minutes later and Lloyd was sporting multiple cuts and bruises, along with his team, and exhaustion was starting to creep up on all of them. There were too many… There was no way they'd be getting out of this one, not after already battling the Emperor. They had fought this many before—without Lloyd's help, surprisingly—but the Emperor had worn them down. And not to mention Raven. Their fight with him may have been brief, but it had used their energy.
Lloyd was now a little further from the others, all of them having been slowly separated.
He was knocked off his feet, again, and he desperately tried to lift his sword to block the other one coming towards his face. His reaction was slow, however. He involuntarily flinched, closing his eyes at the inevitable blow.
There was the sound of a blast of energy exploding, and a yelp from the half breed.
Lloyd blinked in surprise, trying to stand. Someone dragged him to his feet, and Lloyd almost fell over, turning his head to see who it was.
He blinked in surprise again. "Dad?" he asked in disbelief. "What… what are you doing here?!"
Looking around, he saw that his uncle was also here, helping the other ninja. Using spinjitzu, he was defeating them fairly well.
"What did you think you were doing, coming over here—to the city—to kill the Emperor and rescue your friend?!" Garmadon scolded him harshly.
Lloyd swallowed at the disapproving growl in his voice. "Uh…well, we didn't kill the Emperor… And I was never planning on killing him! Just… getting rid of him."
Garmadon narrowed his eyes, scowling. His grip on Lloyd's arm hadn't eased.
Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. "Shouldn't we…um… help out Master Wu?"
His father glanced over at the others. "Nah. Wu's doing fine."
Lloyd glanced over as well, seeing that Garmadon was, indeed, correct. Wu had almost defeated them all.
The half breeds, seeming to realize this as well, fled, going out the same way they'd come in. They were most likely headed back to the Outcast, but with the Emperor dead… Lloyd had no idea what would happen now. Wu had said a new Emperor would be throned…but would he be better than the old one? Or worse? And would the Outcast, along with the dragon and oni's territory, be free again?
Garmadon started walking, dragging Lloyd along with him, heading over to the others. Lloyd had no choice but to walk, wincing at his still-tight grip. Obviously, he was not happy with him…
As they neared the others, they all glanced at him.
"Is everyone alright?" Wu asked, concerned.
Lloyd nodded, along with the other ninja.
"Cole, you are not fine!" Jay scolded, turning to face the black ninja.
Lloyd had to stop the gasp that almost escaped him. Cole's face had a large gash on it, blood pouring down from it and dripping off his face.
Wu's eyes widened. He obviously hadn't noticed it before, most likely having been too busy fighting the half breeds. He hurried over to Cole, grabbing his chin to take a look.
"Hey—" Cole tried to protest, attempting to pull away. "I'm fine!"
"You are not fine," Wu told him sternly. "You're going to need stitches…"
Cole grumbled something under his breath.
"What about Zane?" Kai asked, gesturing towards the motionless nindroid.
Wu looked down at him, confusion coming over his face. "Is he broken?"
"Uh… We think so," Nya replied. "He attacked us."
Wu looked up at her sharply. "Attacked you? Why?"
"We don't know," she replied, glancing down at Zane. "He… he may have been reprogrammed…"
"Reprogrammed?" Lloyd asked. "What does that mean?"
"It means they may have…altered…his brain," Nya tried to explain, realizing that Lloyd probably wouldn't understand.
Wu, Garmadon, and Lloyd all gave her confused looks.
There was something strangely amusing about that.
Nya bent down next to Zane, Jay following suit.
"I'll try to fix him, get him up and running again, but… no guarantees," she told them.
Garmadon glanced around warily. "We shouldn't stay long…"
"I'll try to be quick," Nya told him. She turned Zane's head to the side, finding a small panel. Frowning, she pried it open.
Jay peeked over her shoulder. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.
Nya's frown deepened. "I don't know… I don't remember it being there when we fixed Zane up that one time."
"What being there?" Lloyd asked curiously, walking over.
Nya reached for some…thing in Zane's head. She pulled it out. Studying it, she said, "I…I think it's a computer chip."
Jay gasped. "That explains it! Zane's strange behavior!"
Nya nodded enthusiastically, smiling. "If this is what caused Zane to attack us, then he should be fine now."
"Try to turn him on," Kai told her.
Nya nodded again, frowning. "But, just in case this didn't work…" She glanced at Cole—but then immediately winced. "Uh…never mind." She looked at the others. "Who's the next strongest? To hold Zane down?"
"Me or Lloyd," Kai replied.
"What about you both help, then?" Nya suggested. "One of you hold Zane's arms, the other his legs, okay?"
They both nodded, Garmadon reluctantly letting go of Lloyd.
Lloyd rubbed his arm, thankful, and hurried over to Zane.
Kai gently turned Zane over, taking his arms in a tight grip, one knee on his back, similar to how Cole had held him down. Lloyd basically sat on his legs, holding them down.
"Okay…you guys ready?" she asked, hand hovering over his off switch. Zane was slightly tilted to the side, but would be quickly held down once she flipped it.
Lloyd and Kai nodded.
Wu, Garmadon, Jay, and Cole were beside them in case they needed help holding him down. Cole also now had a piece of cloth around the side of his face to stop the bleeding, which Wu had put on while Nya and Jay had been trying to figure out what was wrong with Zane.
"Well… here goes," Nya told them. She hesitated, then flipped the switch, quickly closing his chest panel.
Kai immediately moved so Zane was now pressed to the floor.
A few seconds, and nothing happened.
"Do you think—" Jay started, but cut himself off when Zane stirred.
Lloyd felt him suddenly stiffen.
"Zane?" Nya asked uncertainly. "Are you…?"
Zane blinked, frowning in confusion. He looked up at Nya's worried face. Then he suddenly realized that he was in control of his body again. He was, not that awful Crypto Chip. Tremendous, exhilarating relief washed over him, and he knew he'd probably be crying right now if he were human from the amount of relief he felt.
He shifted, trying to get up, but he felt something—no, someone—pressing down on him and holding him there. Confusion and concern came over him. Why—But then he remembered before. He'd attacked his friends. No wonder he was being held down—they thought he was going to try and hurt them again! Guilt immediately slammed into him.
"I am so sorry!" Zane blurted. "I—I didn't—I—"
The pressure on his back disappeared.
"Hey, Zane, it's okay! We know," Kai tried to soothe him.
"No—" Zane protested, realizing that he was probably doing the nindroid version of sobbing. "I—"
"It's okay, Zane. We know about the chip," Nya told him gently.
Zane still didn't move from his position on the floor. "But, I—"
Someone was suddenly dragging him to his feet.
"Come on, bud," Kai said, swinging one of his arms around his shoulders.
"Yeah, we're going to head back to the camp, okay?" Nya told him.
Alarm flared through Zane. "What? No!" He struggled to free himself from Kai's grip—who wasn't budging.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Jay asked. "Don't you want to leave?"
"Yes!" Zane replied. "But…someone else is here. We need to rescue her, first."
"Her?" Kai asked in confusion. "Who is this?"
Zane hesitated, stilling in his struggling. He'd kept P.I.X.A.L a secret for so long… But now, he supposed there was no reason to hide her anymore. "Her name is P.I.X.A.L. She'd a nindroid, like me. She's my friend…"
They all exchanged glances.
Nya nodded. "Okay. We'll find her."
Zane smiled appreciatively. "Thank you."
"And," Kai added, "I want to find my parents."
They all looked at him in confusion, minus Nya.
"Your parents?" Cole asked. "I heard you say something about that earlier… You think they're here?"
Kai nodded, jaw tightening. "Remember that helmet? It had a symbol in it—my father's symbol. I've seen it in the blacksmith shop."
"Your father works for the Emperor?!" Jay gasped, eyes wide.
Kai frowned, glancing at the floor. "…I don't know."
There was an awkward silence after that, no one really knowing what to say.
"Your father wouldn't have voluntarily worked for the Emperor," Wu suddenly spoke up.
Kai looked at him skeptically. "How would you know?"
Wu hesitated a second. "I…knew him, a long time ago."
Kai's eyes widened in surprise. "You did? Wait, why didn't you tell me this before?"
Wu frowned, looking a little guilty. "I…didn't think of it."
Kai and Nya gave him bewildered looks. So did everyone else—besides Garmadon, who rolled his eyes exasperatedly.
"What do you mean you didn't think of it?!" Kai growled.
"Er…I quite honestly forgot…"
They all stared at him.
"That…seems like a type of thing that wouldn't be forgotten…" Cole stated.
Wu winced. "You would think…" He looked at Kai and Nya. "And I'm awfully sorry for not telling you."
Nya frowned. "It's…fine."
It clearly was not, and the look on Kai's face confirmed that, but at least Nya was trying to be forgiving…
Zane pulled away from Kai, and he let him go—mostly because he was still bewildered and angry at Wu. "We should go before—wait, what happened to the Emperor?!"
They all turned to stare at the Emperor, who still lay dead on the ground. A dark, crimson pool of blood had formed under him.
"Uh…" Kai said. "He was, um, murdered…by the half breeds."
Zane gave him a confused look. "Half breeds? Why were they in here?"
They all shrugged.
"I dunno, but that's what happened," Kai told him.
Zane glanced at the Emperor again. "I see…Who is his successor?"
They all exchanged glances.
"No idea…" Kai replied.
"Hmm…" Zane started for the door.
They all quickly followed him.
"So, we're looking for this 'P.I.X.A.L', and then my parents?" Kai asked him.
Zane nodded, his eyes suddenly narrowing. "And my father." He led them out of the throne room—through the main entrance doors—and into a large room filled with furniture, wall hangings, paintings, etc.
"Oh, yeah… I forgot you said your father was imprisoned here," Kai said.
Zane turned right, frowning, and walked down the long, wide hall. He hoped his father was alright…
"So…do you know where this 'P.I.X.A.L' would be?" Kai asked. "Like… a general idea?"
Zane frowned again, thinking. "Possibly. She's either in Crypto's…room…or somewhere in the palace."
"Helpful…" Kai grumbled.
"I'm going to search in Crypto's…room…first," Zane informed them.
"Okay…" Kai said, looking confused. "Who's this 'Crypto'?"
Zane halted briefly. Frowning, he replied vaguely, "He's someone who works for the Emperor. Er, did, I mean."
Kai glanced at him. "Right…"
They continued down the hall, and then took many more halls, turns, and doors. Everyone was getting confused on where they were.
"Uh… Zane, you do know where we're going, right?" Jay asked him, fidgeting nervously.
"Yes," Zane replied.
"How long until we get there?" Garmadon asked, glancing around warily.
"Just twenty more minutes," he told him.
Five minutes later Zane stopped at a plain, brown wooden door. He opened it, revealing stairs spiraling downwards.
Lloyd felt his breath catch in his throat. He recognized this door.