Through the skylight of the Ninjago: Museum of History, Lloyd slowly lowered himself down on a rope. Reaching the ground floor, he alerted the other ninja that the coast was clear. "Alright everyone, if we're going to get to the Crystal King Exhibit we need to be on our toes. Remember, several guards are still scattered on duty," he added.
Zane informed Lloyd how he, Jay, and Nya were waiting underground. Lloyd was required to make his way into the security room and lower the secret elevator installed.
"Don't worry, Pal. It might take some time, but I'll figure out a way to get there," Lloyd replied. He searched the next room and found the door on the next level. Lloyd grinned as knew the perfect route to get up top. The green ninja swiftly jumped onto the tail of the Grundle bones, steadily making his way up to the skull. Lloyd noticed the bones slightly unstable, making them and himself begin to wobble. If the bones all crashed on the floor then one of the nearby guards would surely hear him. Regaining his balance the ninja finally made it to the upper floor.
Reaching the security room, Lloyd was able to type in the security code that Nya had given him earlier. This allowed the elevator to lower and a chance for Zane to rewire it, bringing him and the other two up with him. The three of them met up with Lloyd in the security room. "What took ya so long?" Jay teased.
"Not now, Jay. We have to hurry and hack the security computers so Lloyd can make it to the Crystal King exhibit," Nya informed her yang.
Lloyd watched as each of them individually hacked different computers. Nya had taken care of all of the laser security, Jay had disabled the cameras, and Zane raised all of the gates and unlocked the doors.
"Presto, all clear," Zane confirmed. "Now that most of the security is offline, Cole and Kai should be moving into position for your rendezvous. We will stay here and provide additional computer support while you move on ahead." The green ninja was filled with delight. It was always a pleasure seeing the team work so well together.
As he returned to the first floor, Lloyd began making his way through the museum. He knew that it was a high priority to destroy the leftover parts of the Overlord. There was no way that Lloyd would leave an opportunity for the Overlord to return as the Crystal King. After their battle with him and he was destroyed, they displayed his shattered parts in the museum. However, Lloyd knew those parts deserved to be destroyed, not displayed!
As Lloyd made his way to the Crystal King Exhibit, he could make out Nya's voice impersonation over the intercoms. "Ummm, attention all guards. This is the Network Administrator. We're installing some new software into the security mainframe, so don't be alarmed if some systems get turned off for a while. Thank you, you're all doing a great job!"
Lloyd had finally reached the entrance to the exhibit. However, there seemed to be no way in! The green ninja turned around to find a guard approaching behind him. Lloyd quickly gasped, afraid that his cover would be blown. All of a sudden, Kai and Cole came sliding in through an air vent. Kai immediately blasted the guard with fire, causing him to fall on his back and close his eyes. "Better hide him before he wakes up," Kai told the others.
Lloyd faced the locked door. "How are we supposed to get in? This door can't be controlled by the others," Lloyd stated.
Cole smirked as he answered, "That's where I come into play!" Cole reached and lifted an artifact from the floor. Before Lloyd's eyes, Cole threw the artifact at the door, breaking the lock.
"Uhhhh," Kai began. "You realize we could've just gotten that key from the guard I knocked out, right?"
Cole chuckled then responded, "Where's the fun in that?" Cole opened the door and told his friends, "You two go ahead and retrieve the parts. I'll stay here to ensure we're not followed."
However, Lloyd and Kai were in shock! NONE of the parts were at the exhibit. They were supposed to be there, but they were somewhere gone! Missing! While looking through the security camera, Jay told his friends, "I don't get it, guys. The schematics Zane found said they were supposed to be here."
Before another word was spoken, three people came out from hiding. Skylor, Harumi, and a policewoman. Kai grinned in delight, "Ahhh, Skylor! As beautiful and unpredictable as ever."
Harumi rolled her eyes. "Whereas you ninja are so predictable. You always show up at the scene of a crime," she said.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "Crime? We haven't committed any crimes!"
This made Harumi confused. Ever since the whole incident with the Overlord, she had been helping out the commissioner to make up for what she had done. Skylor willingly there to help guide her since she too was once in need of redemption. "Oh really?" Harumi continued. "Then who broke in here last night and made off with all the Crystal Parts? You guys have the motive!"
"Someone already stole the parts!?" Lloyd cried.
"It might not have been them, guys," the other policewoman, Inspector Marina, said, speaking up. "The method of entry and the guards' witness stories all make this seem like an Obsidian Force job," she finished.
"The Obsidian Force?" Kai questioned in curiosity.
Skylor turned to Inspector Marina stating how they allowed her to sit in on the stakeout as a favor to the commissioner, they don't really need any help. But Marina reminded her that they still do need help and to look at the facts.
"Facts?" Harumi replied. "The ninja are right here. We caught them red handed."
Before another word was spoken, Kai and Lloyd were sneaking out of the exhibit and meeting up with Cole. They rushed through the museum and grabbed the others. "This wasn't part of the plan!" Jay cried.
As Skylor and Harumi were chasing after them, Kai simply told to the blue ninja, "Yeah, well... this is where things get fun!"
Eventually making their way out of the museum, the ninja were all able to escape through their vehicles. This left Lloyd with a lot to ponder about. Was Inspector Marina's reference to the Obsidian Force just a slip of the tongue or an intentional clue for the ninja? Either way, it was their only lead on the missing Crystal parts! Did the Obsidian Force even realize what they stole!? Those Crystal King parts have got to go! There was no chance the ninja were going to let the Obsidian Force have the chance to bring back the Overlord.
(To be continued)