The Snake King
In the Sea of Sands, Pythor was digging in a ditch already the width and diameter of a building with Rattalia, Skales, and Selma helping. Skales and Pythor were shoveling while Rattalia and Selma dumped buckets of sand on the pile as Skales looked at Pythor.
"We're wasssting our time, Pythor. There'ssss nothing here but ssssand and dusssst," Skales pointed out.
"And, we've been digging for over three hourssss now, and it'ssss already passst lunch," Rattalia added as she held her growling belly. "Perhapssss, we should take a break."
"No time for breakssss, young lady, keep digging," Pythor said as he shoveled. "The Losssst City of Ouroborossss is under ussss. I know it." He said stubbornly.
"Are you really that dessssperate to find thissss city and unite thetTribessss?" Selma asked as she brought out some water for them. "Look at ussss. We're exhaussssted, hungry, and thissss heat issssn't helping usssss, and thissss whole thing is completely pointlesssss."
"The girlsssss have a point, Pythor," Skales said in agreement as he accepted the water from Selma and took a sip. "I mean, let'ssss face it, your firsssst attempt to unite the tribessss failed, and now that you have lost your flock, you've become dessssperate."
"I am desperate, my dissssloyal ssssecond-and-third-in-command," Pythor said sternly as he continued digging and not accepting the water, "but only to bring our kind together ssso we can unleash the Great Devourer."
"Uncle, you put too much faith in legendsssss," Rattalia said as she slithered beside him. "Besidesssss, my father told me that the Great Devourer wassss almost impossssible to control and would conssssume almosssst ANYTHING in it'ssss path. Why do you think he locked it up in the firsssst place?"
Skales did not like the sound of that, and if what Rattalia said was true, then it meant that the Great Devourer would also consume the Serpentine, and he didn't want any Serpentine to get harmed, even if they were on different tribes.
"Not to mention, that all the Ssssserpentine know isss to be at war with one another," Selma added. "It would take a miracle to unite them now."
Pythor's shovel then hit something as he shifted away the sand and beamed as he saw a stone circle with the symbol of the five tribes on it, and Pythor chuckled as he turned to his niece and the two Hypnobrai.
"Skalessss, ladiessss, I believe we have found our miracle," Pythor said as he turned the switch, the area began to rumble.
The sand started to sink into the ground revealing a spiral on the ground, and around them, a few snake statues and buildings began to appear from the sand. Skales, Selma, and Rattalia looked around in shock at what was happening while Pythor gazed at it as they stood in what looked like an arena, and before them was a giant snake statue.
"I present to you the city, formally known assss, The Lossst City or Ouroborossss!" Pythor announced.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Ninjago, Destiny's Bounty was moving past the mountains, and right behind the flying ship was the mailman riding his bike with wings while holding a package. Since he heard that the Bounty flies and moves around, he needed some way to deliver the mail.
"Wait, slow down," the mailman called out to the Bounty as he kept peddling. "I have a package for Sensei Wu."
Just then, Wu stepped out of his quarters because he heard something coming from behind the ship, and he went to see what it was. He looked behind the Bounty and saw the mailman.
"Oh, it's finally here," Wu said with a smile.
The mailman landed his bike on the Bounty and he was panting from exhaustion from all the peddling he did.
"You should be careful. We normally don't stay in one place," Wu advised the mailman.
"Oh, it's fine. This isn't the first time I've delivered mail to strange places," the mailman said as he caught his breath. "Though, it would be nice if you guys picked a landing spot."
"My apologies, but in these times, we cannot take many risks," Wu explained before seeing the package. "I see that they have finally come."
"Oh, yes, here you go," the mailman said as he gave Wu the package.
"Do you want us to stop somewhere to drop you off?" Wu asked.
"No, it's fine. I'll go the way I came," the mailman said as he got back on his bike. "Besides, it's good exercise."
The mailman then peddled his bike and left as Wu walked towards the dining area where he saw the ninjas, Lloyd, and Melissa having some snacks while they were listening to Lloyd talk about his battle strategy against the Serpentine.
"First, I'll stomp on his tail," Lloyd started to explain his strategy, "And when he turns, a thunderclap to his ear, and when he's stunned, I'll disarm him."
"Too late, Lloyd, he already turned invisible, snuck up on you from behind, and swallowed you whole," Melissa spoke up as she recalled her and Lloyd's experience with Pythor.
"Or he's already hypnotized you and now you're under his control," Cole said speaking from his experience with the Hypnobrai.
"Or he's already put you in a squeeze," Zane said clenching his fist as he remembered nearly being crushed by the Constrictai.
"Or he bit you and now you're slowly turning into a snake," Jay said remembering the effects of the Fangpyer bit.
"Or spit on you with his hallucinatory venom, trust me, bad stuff," Kai said shaking his head at the thought of the Venomari spit.
Lloyd sighed as he realized that they were right, and he didn't think about which one of the five Serpentine tribes he would be fighting.
"Oh, man, Uncle, what is the best way to defeat a Serpentine if you don't know what kind they are?" Lloyd asked as Wu sat.
"Sadly, it was the Sacred Flute that you four carelessly lost," Wu scolded them.
"Hey, no, no, no, we didn't lose it. Pythor stole it," Jay defended.
"Whatever the case, because without it, I fear we have nothing to combat their powers," Wu said as he poured his tea. "We may have prevented them from uniting in the past, but they will try again, and one day, they will be stronger."
"Don't worry, Sensei, I've almost reached my full potential, and when I become the Green Ninja, we're not gonna need any magic flute," Cole bragged.
"You're gonna be the Green Ninja?" Kai asked as he laughed sarcastically. "Don't make me laugh."
"I thought it was decided that I was destined to be the Green Ninja," Zane said.
"Oh, the only thing decided about you, Zane, is that you're weird," Jay told him before all of them started arguing about who was going to be the Green Ninja while Lloyd and Melissa were confused by the whole thing.
"Um, we're at a loss here," Lloyd spoke.
"Yeah, what is this Green Ninja, and what's so important about it?" Melissa asked.
"The Green Ninja, along with the Purple Ninja, are Ninjago's chosen ones," Kai explained to the two kids, "And together, they will defeat the Dark Lord and save all of Ninjago."
Lloyd did not feel comfortable when Kai mentioned that, considering the Dark Lord was his father, and he didn't know how he felt about that.
"OK, but why aren't you guys talking about who is the Purple Ninja?" Melissa asked.
"Because we have reason to believe that the Purple Ninja is a girl," Zane answered, "Which means that it could be Nya, but we're not a hundred percent sure yet."
"OK, then have fun arguing about this," Lloyd said as he walked over to his uncle, "So what's in the box?"
"Your new uniforms," Wu answered as he opened the box revealing four new ninja gi's with the ninjas' glowing emblems on them.
The four Ninjas gasped in surprise before excitedly grabbing each of their new suits.
"Whoa! They've got like armor," Jay said excitedly as he looked at his suit.
"I love the gold highlights," Kai said as he looked at his suit.
"Battle claws," Cole noted.
"The material is really light and breathable," Zane stated.
"Oh, nothing for us?" Lloyd asked in disappointment.
"Yeah, what about us?" Melissa followed in disappointment.
Wu turned to his nephew and his friend realizing that he didn't get them anything like the others as he looked around nervously.
"Um, you two get uhh... This box?" Wu said as he gave the empty box to Lloyd and Melissa.
"Oh, man," Lloyd and Melissa said in disappointment.
Just then, the alarm went off and everyone went to the bridge as Cole went up to the console of the map of Ninjago.
"Sorry to break up the moment, guys, but a small faction of our slithering friends are stirring up trouble over at Mega Monster Amusement Park," Cole informed as the screen showed the snakes attacking the area.
"Amusement Park?" Lloyd and Melissa asked excitedly as they moved around the others and begged them to take them so they could have fun at the amusement park.
"Can we go?" Lloyd asked.
"Can we go with you, please?" Melissa asked.
"Let us make up for things," Lloyd pleaded.
"Yeah, we can help," Melissa pleaded.
"I'm sorry, kids," Wu said apologetically. "You two will stay here where it's safe."
"Oh, why do the ninjas get all the fun?" Lloyd whined.
"Yeah, that's just not fair," Melissa frowned as she crossed her arms.
"What do you say, guys?" Jay asked the others with a smirk. "Ready to try out the new merchandise?" He asked while holding his new suit.
The others chattered in agreement as they went to put on their new suits in excitement, but before they did, they went to grab their Golden Weapons, and then they went to put on their new suits.
But then, Wu noticed something as the ninjas ran past them, and he didn't know if he was seeing things, but he could've sworn that he saw The Golden Weapons glow a green and purple aura when they passed by Lloyd and Melissa, and this got Wu theorizing that maybe Lloyd and Melissa were destined for something great.
A few minutes later, the ninjas were in their new suits complete with gold and silver shoulder pads and crowns on their masks, some armor on parts of their suits with their highlights reflecting off them.
"This new stuff feels like it'll really protect us," Cole commented.
"Yet, provide more mobility," Zane noted.
"You wanna strut your stuff on the catwalk, or get down to that amusement park so we can go on some rides?" Jay asked them as they brought out their weapons.
"I love a good old-fashion roller coaster, but nothing beats this," Kai said.
The ninjas leaped off the Bounty and summoned their vehicles as they fell to the amusement park below, and when they were near, their vehicles vanished and they jumped off a small building, landing a pose.
"Ha, check that out!" Cole said as he looked over himself, "Not a scratch on me." He commented.
Then, the four ninjas heard the crowd cheering as they looked up and saw a crowd of people.
"Ha-ha! Ladies, relax, relax, we have arrived," Jay said pridefully.
But then, as the people moved aside, the ninjas were surprised to see that the Serpentine had already been restrained.
"Uh, what just happened?" Kai asked one of the people in the crowd.
"Oh, you like, totally missed it," a woman said. "There were, like, icky snakes, but then this mysterious samurai came in and saved everyone." She explained.
"He was, like, gorgeous," a girl said while feeling fanstruck.
"You saw his face?" Kai asked her in surprise.
"No, but we could, like, totally tell," the woman answered before Nya suddenly walked up and gave the girls some ice cream.
"Nya, you're here?" Jay questioned in surprise.
"Yeah, you just missed all the action," Nya said to them. "He just flew in, took care of business, and then flew off. It was pretty cool." She added as they heard the crowd chatting.
"I don't wanna be a ninja, I wanna be a samurai," a boy complained to his mother as he was dragged away by her.
"That samurai is my new hero," a man commented to his friend.
"I knew samurai could kick the ninjas' butts," another man from the crowd commented as the others heard it.
"Ugh, who is this guy?" Kai questioned.
"Whoever he is, he's stealing our thunder," Cole commented.
"And, we just got these cool new ninja suits," Jay complained as he grumbled and crossed his arms. "I'm gonna say it-I hate samurai."
"Looks like Melissa was right about ninjas and samurai being rivals," Zane commented.
"Do I hear a hint of jealousy?" Wu asked as he approached them with cotton candy. "Maybe, this can be a lesson for you."
"No, not another less..." Jay complained before realizing something. "Hey, wait a minute, how'd you get down here so quickly?" He questioned.
"And, did you and Nya leave Lloyd and Melissa alone on the Bounty?" Kai asked.
"No, they're over there," Wu said as he pointed to Lloyd and Melissa playing at one of the carnival booths. "I figured that maybe they should have some amusement park fun."
"Seems fair, they're still kids after all," Cole said as the others agreed.
"Now, the lesson is: iron sharpens iron," Wu told them.
"I do not follow, Sensei," Zane said.
"Healthy competition can help you reach your true potential faster," Wu told them as he walked by them. "Do not be jealous of the samurai, let it inspire you." He said before he turned and saw something that made him gasp in excitement, "Ohh, Ferris Wheel!" He cheered in glee as he ran towards it.
"Inspire?" Jay asked as he was confused by that lesson.
"Wait a minute, maybe the old man's right," Kai said.
"You want us to compete with the samurai?" Cole asked. "He's got these cool gadgets. We don't stand a chance."
"No, not with him, with us," Kai explained. "I say, we turn this into our own competition. Whichever one of us is skilled enough to catch this mysterious samurai, is probably the best of the bunch." He said as he drew out his sword and spooked a man walking past them.
"So, whoever learns the identity of the samurai, is the one who will become the Green Ninja of Yang," Jay said before he pulled out his nunchucks. "Ha, I love it!"
"Then, it's a bet," Cole said. "May The Green Ninja win."
"NINJA-GO!" All four shouted as Lloyd and Melissa overheard everything from a few feet away from them.
"So, they are basically gonna try to find out who the samurai is, turning it into a competition," Lloyd said in confusion. "Well, this should be interesting."
"I can already tell that this is gonna end badly," Melissa said while shaking her head. "Should we just tell them that we know who the samurai is and spare them the trouble?"
"Why? This whole thing with the ninjas and the samurai is none of our business," Lloyd said with a shrug. "Let's just let them figure out who the samurai is themselves, besides, it's gonna be funny when they find out who the samurai really is."
"Yeah, you got a point and it is gonna be funny," Melissa said with a chuckle, "So, race you to the roller coaster?" She challenged.
"You're on," Lloyd accepted as he and Melissa raced towards it.
Back on Destiny's Bounty, in the bridge room, the alarm was wailing like crazy as Nya checked the monitor.
"Multiple snake sightings, they're everywhere," Nya said before each ninja took a different location.
Zane headed up in the mountains on his bike to a snowy village where the Serpentine were attacking the villagers. When he arrived, he found that the samurai had beaten him to it and tied up the Serpentine.
The samurai laughed before he took off, giving Zane a mocking wave.
"Metal menace!" Zane shouted as he threw a snowball in frustration.
In a forest, three Constrictai approached Kai as he took a battle stance and drew out his weapon, ready for a fight.
"Go, ninja, go!" three girls cheered as they watched. Just then, the Samurai scooped up the three Constrictai in a metal net, "Oh, samurai, oh!" The three girls gushed over them.
Seeing this, Kai turned to the samurai with narrow eyes.
"Alright, that's it. NINJA-GO!" Kai shouted as he did his Spinjitzu, and spun his way over to the samurai, but then, they launched a net and caught him. "Ahh! Hey, what's going on?"
In the Caves of Despair, the old chamber of the Scythe of Quakes, some Venomari and Fangpyer charged at the samurai, but the samurai used his mech to swing his sword and knock them back. Cole jumped on the edge of a cliff behind the samurai.
"Now, I've got you, unh, ha-ha!" Cole shouted as he jumped on the mech's arm, only for the arm to launch like a rocket, sending Cole flying into the wall, and hole groaned as he slid down the wall.
Jay was wearing a pink dress and a blond wig as he lay down on a train track with a train heading his way.
"Help, samurai, where are you, oh!" Jay shouted as he acted like a damsel in distress.
The samurai landed next to him holding some train tracks before he placed each track down and redirected the train around and away from Jay.
"Ugh, stupid samurai!" Jay shouted and threw away his wig as the samurai flew away.
Kai was on his bike with Lloyd and Melissa riding along, and then he stopped in front of an arcade, letting Lloyd and Melissa go.
"OK, I know it's my turn to keep an eye on you two, but just play a few games and stay put while I look around," Kai told them as he gave Lloyd and Melissa some money. "I have a feeling The samurai may show up."
"Well, we can help," Lloyd and Melissa said in unison.
"No," Kai quickly responded.
"Oh, come on, you guys never let us help with anything," Lloyd complained.
"If we're not gonna help, then at least drop us off at a decent arcade and not this crappy place," Melissa said.
"Sorry, kids," Kai told them before he left.
"Kai, wait!" Lloyd and Melissa called out to the red ninja but he was already gone.
"Wow! They really wanna find out the samurai's identity," Melissa said while shaking her head.
"I think they are more focused on who is the Green Ninja," Lloyd theorized. "That's why they are doing this anyway."
"Yeah, you got a point there," Melissa said nodding in agreement. "Heh, hey, what if we are the destined Green and Purple Ninjas?"
"Pfft! Yeah, right, like that's ever gonna happen," Lloyd said as he and Melissa shared a laugh. "If we are the Green and Purple Ninjas, then I'm also SpongeBob SquarePants."
"Yeah, I don't know why I said that in the first place," Melissa said with a chuckle. "Anyway, let's just go play some games in this dump."
"Would've been nice if we were dropped off at a far better arcade," Lloyd muttered as Melissa nodded in agreement, but then Lloyd stopped as he heard something not far from them. "Hey, Melissa, do you hear that?"
Melissa stopped and listened to what Lloyd was hearing, and then she heard it as well, it sounded like voices coming from the back of the ally, so Lloyd and Melissa went to the ally and saw Skales, Selma, and a few Serpentine talking, and not wanting to get caught, they stayed quiet and listened into their talk.
"I heard he found it," Skales told some Serpentine, "And everyone issss gathering again."
"Impossssible," a Fangpyer said. "The Lossst City doessss not exist."
"Well, it isn't lossst anymore, ha, ha, and I hear that there'ssss gonna be a fight," Skales told them.
"Pythor sssent ussss to tell you all sssso you could watch the fight," Selma added.
"A fight? Count me in," a Venomari said.
Lloyd and Melissa listened in, and they both knew that they had to do something. They watched as the Serpentine were getting on a Serpent Bus that was gonna take them to this 'Lost City'.
"All aboard! Next stop: Ouroborossss!" Skales announced as Lloyd and Melissa walked back to the arcade.
"Lloyd, what do we do?" Melissa asked a little bit nervously. "The Serpentine are meeting up in this Lost City and the ninjas are too focused on their dumb bet."
"I know, I know, we need to do something, but what?" Lloyd said as he and Melissa began to think.
Just then, Lloyd and Melissa saw two snake costumes in the shop's window and they both looked at each other, smiling as they both got an idea.
The sound of maracas rattled as Lloyd and Melissa bought the two snake costumes and made their way to the Serpent Bus. After a Constrictai got on, Lloyd and Melissa were next.
"Hey, you two, hold it right there," Skales told Lloyd and Melissa which made them both nervous. "Lasssst ones in closessssss the door." He joked.
"Oh, ssssure thing," Lloyd and Melissa said in unison as they sighed in relief that their disguises worked. Lloyd and Melissa closed the door before the Serpent Bus drove.
The Bus was going a long way as it became nightfall, and after a few more miles, Lloyd and Melissa looked out the window and saw a snake statue as the bus reached its destination: The City of Ouroboros.
At the center of the city, all of The Serpentine have gathered around in the stadium for this big fight. Lloyd and Melissa sat among the Serpentine as they waited for the fight to begin. Meanwhile, down below, Pythor was talking to his niece, Rattalia.
"Uncle, are you ssssure about thissss?" Rattalia asked in concern, "Because this sssseemsss like cheating."
"Jusssst do assss I say, my dear, and I promisssse you will be my rightful heir forever," Pythor whispered to Rattalia as they both put on ear plugs. "Fellow Ssssserpentine, I bring you to the City of Ouroborossss before the sssstatue of our very own Great Devourer to speak of unity!" He announced to all of the Serpentine.
"Where are the fightsssss?" One Serpentine asked.
"Where is the big show?" Another Serpentine shouted.
"Slither Pit! Slither Pit! Slither Pit!" They all chanted, wanting to see the fight.
Pythor saw this and growled before he turned to Rattalia who hesitated for a bit before she subtly slipped something to her uncle before Pythor jumped to the center of the stadium.
"You want a show? You want to ssssee a fight?" Pythor shouted. "I asked for your allegiance, but you will not give it, sssso I will take it!" He declared as the other four Serpentine generals stood in front of him.
"What are you ssssaying?" Fangtom demanded.
"I challenge the four tribe generals for their staffssss and their allegiance at once!" Pythor challenged as the other Serpentine cheered.
"I've worked and fought hard to earn this sssstaff, and I will not give it up so eassssily," Skales said as he and the other generals approached Pythor.
"There's no way you can defeat the four of usss at once," Skalidor said as he swung his staff at Pythor and missed.
Pythor then swung his tail and spun Skalidor around, Acidicus then tried to attack the Anacondrai only to get punched in the face, Fangtom and Skales tried to attack together but Pythor swung his tail and knocked them back before the four generals dogpiled on him. Pythor then pulled out the Sacred Flute that he stole before and Rattalia slipped him before the fight, and started playing it.
"He's using the Sacred Flute against his own kind," Lloyd whispered to his best friend.
"This is not good," Melissa whispered in concern as the generals and all of the other Serpentine in the audience yelled out in pain from the music while covering their ear holes.
"My earssss!" Skalidor shouted in pain.
"It hurtssss!" Acidicus yelled.
"Make it sssstop!" Fangtom begged.
"The pain!" Skales cried.
Pythor then used the opportunity to knock them down one by one taking each of their staffs.
"Bow to your masssster!" Pythor told the generals as he threw the staffs before them. "Bow to your master, Ssssserpentine!" He shouted as the generals bowed down to him before every Serpentine in the stadium did as well.
As Lloyd and Melissa bowed, a Constrictai accidentally knocked Melissa over, and she fell into the stadium, her disguise falling off. Melissa rubbed her head in pain and then she saw her disguise in front of her, and she realized that she's exposed.
"Uh-oh!" Melissa said worriedly as she saw Pythor and the generals glaring at her.
"Melissssa!" Rattalia whispered in shock.
Lloyd was about to sneak away until a Hypnobrai grabbed him by his shirt.
"Where do you think you're going?" The Hypnobrai growled as Lloyd's disguise fell off, exposing him as well.
"Lloyd!" Pythor growled as Lloyd gulped nervously.
"Melissa, run!" Lloyd shouted.
Melissa then made a run for it just as the Serpentine generals tried to grab her. She ran straight out of the stadium and right into the city as Pythor growled in anger.
"Find her! Ssssearch all over the city and bring her to me!" Pythor ordered as a few Serpentine began the hunt, and then he glared at Lloyd, "And lock him up and make sure he can't esssscape."
Melissa continued running and she hid behind one of the snake statues, blocking her mouth until the Serpentine that were chasing her went away, and when they left, she sighed in relief but then she realized that Lloyd was still there.
"Don't worry, Lloyd, I'll find a way to save you," Melissa vowed before she continued running.
Back at the stadium, two Hypnobrai dragged Lloyd and threw him in a cage as Pythor and Rattalia watched, and then a Venomari scout approached them.
"Ssssir, the girl got away, and we're ssssearching everywhere 'till we find her," the Venomari told him as Pythor slithered towards Lloyd.
"Lookssss like your little girlfriend left, Lloyd. I almost feel ssssorry for you, my dear boy," Pythor said in a smug tone, "But you two caussssed enough trouble for ussss, and now you are our hosssstage."
"Melissa is not my girlfriend and she'll come and save me," Lloyd said as he glared at Pythor. "Same goes for my friends, they'll come and save me."
"Oh! Ho-ho, I'm counting on it," Pythor said evilly as he let out a laugh and slithered away.
Rattalia looked at Lloyd with an apologetic look before she followed her uncle. Lloyd then sat down and looked at the sky, hoping Melissa got away and he also hoped that the ninjas would come and save him soon.
The next day on Destiny's Bounty, the ninjas have gathered in the dining room for some lunch.
"Trying to figure out the samurai's identity is more of a nuisance than the snakes," Cole complained, "Any luck with you guys?"
"The guy's elusive, he's like a ghost," Jay complained. "One moment, he's there and then the next, he's gone."
"I am starting to believe we might never catch him," Zane said.
"I think, it's safe to say, none of us are closer to proving who is the Green Ninja," Kai said just as Wu appeared.
"Looks like iron is sharpening iron," Wu said. "I feel you are getting closer to your true potential." He told his students as he squeezed Cole's arm.
"Ow!" Cole moaned as Wu chuckled before he noticed that Lloyd and Melissa were missing.
"Where's Lloyd and Melissa?" Wu asked before turning to Kai. "I thought you were looking after them, Kai."
"I thought Cole was gonna pick them up," Kai said.
"I went to the arcade, but they weren't there," Cole explained. "Jay was..."
"Hey, don't bring me into this," Jay said quickly. "I babysat yesterday."
"Sensei, we have not seen them," Zane said as Wu showed a look of concern for his nephew and his friend.
"We must find them now," Wu told them as the ninjas left the dining room to begin the search for Lloyd and Melissa.
The ninjas soon drove to the same arcade that Kai left them.
"Lloyd! Melissa!" Kai called out as he opened the door to the arcade. "They were right here. Someone must've seen them."
"Don't worry, we'll find them," Cole said as he looked around and saw a camera on a poll. "Hey, guys, check this out."
The others looked up and saw the camera, and soon went into the arcade's monitor room to check the footage.
"Wait, wait, there's the pipsqueak and his girlfriend," Jay pointed out Lloyd and Melissa on the monitors. "Play that back."
They rewinded the footage before resuming it and watched as Lloyd and Melissa went into the store and came out with Serpentine costumes before going down an alley.
"What are they up to?" Cole wondered as they all went down the same alley and saw some footprints.
"I sense these are Lloyd and Melissa's footprints," Zane pointed out, "But they come to an end here, but why?"
"Something tells me we're going for a ride," Kai said when he noticed some tracks, "Come on, boys."
The team then each summoned their Spinjitzu vehicles as they followed the tire tracks out into the desert. They followed the track for miles before they saw the Lost City of Ouroboros.
"What is this place?" Cole asked over the coms when they saw the city.
"Looks like a snake city," Jay said.
"Let's get a closer look," Kai told them as they drove to the city.
They soon traveled in the shadows so as not to be seen by a few Serpentine guards. They soon made their way to the stadium where they heard multiple Serpentine cheering. They hid behind a large snake statue as they searched.
"It appears that Pythor has successfully united all of the tribes," Zane told the others.
"I know we ruined their last get-together, but that's no reason to not get an invitation," Cole joked. "My feelings are hurt."
"There's Lloyd," Kai said as he pointed to where he was, and then they all saw Lloyd locked up in a cage next to the large snake statue with Rattalia watching him.
"But, wait, where's Melissa?" Cole asked.
"I think she might've gotten away," Zane theorized.
"Well, I hope so," Jay said before he gasped at what he saw. "Whoa! Guys, look at who they worship."
"Let me guess: the Great Devourer?" Cole guessed in a low tone.
"All the more reason to find Melissa and get Lloyd out of here," Kai told them as he reached for his sword. "This comes to an end today."
They each drew out their weapons and then they charged to Lloyd before a cage fell on them, and they dropped their weapons outside the cage. All of the Serpentine gasped when they saw them trapped.
"Ah, the ninjas!" Lloyd gasped when he saw his friends get captured and Rattalia also gasped.
As the ninjas recovered from slamming against the cage, Pythor stood in front of their weapons.
"Lookssss like we caught the main event," Pythor said with a smirk as a few Serpentine then surrounded them.
Unbeknownst to them, Melissa was hidden behind one of the statues and she saw the whole thing which worried her.
"Oh-no! They got the ninjas too," Melissa said worriedly. "This is not good at all." She said as she snuck away from the scene.
All the Serpentine cheered as the ninjas were surrounded by guards and brought to the center of the arena. The ninjas then noticed a steel gate and they could hear rattling chains behind it.
"Main event?" Jay said worriedly. "What do you think they mean by main event?"
"I have a feeling we're the main event," Kai theorized.
"Or the main course," Cole said.
"Kai, you might be right," Zane said. "Things really may come to an end today."
"Uh, don't worry," Jay said nervously. "The samurai could still come and save us... Right?"
"You ssssay you wanted a battle and I gave you one!" Pythor announced in front of the Great Devourer statue. "I give you: Ninja vs Samurai!"
The ninjas turned to the gate as it opened, and the samurai in his mech with chains wrapped around his arms emerged. The Serpentine guards that were surrounding the ninjas went to unchain the mech before rushing out of the arena.
"What? We have to fight the Samurai?" Jay shouted, "But we don't even have our Golden Weapons, and he has that hulking thing of armor. It's not fair."
"I want to ssssee, once and for all, who isss the greatest hero!" Pythor announced. "Issss it samurai or ninja? Only the victor will be allowed to leave."
"Stay together," Kai told the others.
"Perhaps, he can join our team to fight our way out?" Zane suggested. "After all, he hates the Serpentine too."
The mech then threw a large shuriken at them just as the ninjas quickly jumped out of the way to dodge it.
"Scratch that, he is not on our team," Cole said as he stood.
The ninjas quickly jumped over the mech as it tried to swipe at them. When it charged at them, it stumbled forward before it threw another shuriken at them. Jay ducked under it as the others jumped out of the way.
"Ha! Ha! Missed me," Jay bragged before the shuriken came around and hit him in the back of the head.
As the Serpentine were cheering, Melissa snuck from behind the Great Devourer statue before approaching the cage that contained Lloyd.
"Melissa," Lloyd gasped in shock but also happiness when he saw her. "Thank goodness, you're all right."
"Don't worry, Lloyd, I'm gonna get you out of here," Melissa whispered.
"You're not getting him out."
Melissa turned around and saw Rattalia right behind her, and then she reached for something Melissa thought was a weapon and closed her eyes, but then she opened them to see that Rattalia was handing her a pair of keys.
"Not without the keysssss," Rattalia said as she handed them to Melissa. "I'm ssssorry, guyssss, I didn't mean for thissss to happen. I was ssscared of what my uncle would do to me. Pleasssse get Lloyd out and run, run as fasssst as you can."
"Thank you," Melissa said with a smile as Rattalia nodded before Melissa started to look for the right key to get Lloyd free.
The samurai mech then drew out a sword and slammed it at the ninjas, but they quickly dove out of the way. Kai and Jay ducked when it swung its sword while Cole and Zane jumped over it and to the others.
"Tornado of Creation?" Zane suggested.
The others nodded in agreement knowing that if the samurai saw all of their moves during the Serpentine battles, then there was only one move that they have only done once when they went to the Underworld to save their sensei from Lord Garmadon.
"Earth!" Cole shouted as he did Spinjitzu.
"Fire!" Kai called out his element before he did Spinjitzu.
"Ice!" Zane cried before he did Spinjitzu.
"Lightning!" Jay yelled before he did Spinjitzu.
"NINJA-GO!" All four screamed as each of their Spinjitzu combined into The Tornado of Creation.
The samurai stepped back as the tornado started to gather a few things around the arena. It's starting to suck up every weapon and object around them, and Melissa held onto the cage so she didn't get sucked into it.
"Hey, wait!" A Constrictai cried out as the tornado sucked in their refreshments too.
Even the samurai's sword was absorbed. When the tornado vanished, the ninja created a giant slingshot with a giant spike ball. They pulled back the ball a few feet before launching it, knocking the Samurai back into a snake statue right in front of Pythor and Rattalia.
The ninjas then charged at Pythor and Rattalia, the latter yelped nervously while Pythor simply smirked, before pulling a lever as spikes shot up blocking the ninjas' path.
"Ugh! Why can't anyone play fair?" Jay complained.
Pythor just smiled before pulling another lever, and the arena started to tip over. The ninjas lost their balance as they fell back but held onto a few spikes as to not fall into the pit. The samurai mech grabbed onto some spikes as well.
"Can this get any worse?" Cole asked.
"We must continue to make it appear that we are fighting for real," the samurai told them.
"Huh? We're not fighting for real?" Jay asked the samurai.
"Keep up the charade and hold onto my exo-suit," the samurai told them.
The ninjas got onto the mech just before the rocket boosters on its back went off. The mech took flight, but it was being weighed down as the engines sputtered.
"There's too much weight!" Zane shouted before the samurai jumped out of his mech and let them fly.
"I can't believe he just saved us," Cole said.
"He stole our thunder again!" Kai shouted.
"Even after we had beaten him," Zane added.
"Ugh! I hate that samurai!" Jay shouted as the mech flew away and all the Serpentine watched it fly away.
"Go, ninja, go!" Lloyd shouted just as Melissa had finally unlocked the cage. "Ha! Ha! Nice job, Melissa, I'm free."
"Now, come on, let's get outta here," Melissa told him.
The samurai landed in front of two Serpentine in the stadium's seat and punched them in the face. He then jumped down and made his way towards Pythor and Rattalia. Pythor then saw that Melissa had just freed Lloyd, so he grabbed him before he could run for it.
"Lloyd!" Melissa exclaimed in shock.
"Grab the girl and GET HIM!" Pythor ordered before a bunch of one group of Serpentine surrounded Melissa, and another surrounded the samurai, but then the samurai pressed a button on his arm to activate something.
"Magnetizer activated," the samurai said as the magnetizer hit the Golden Weapons and they flew toward him.
The samurai then wrapped the Golden Weapons with a cloth when they came close before he threw a blade at the same lever Pythor used to tip the arena, as the snakes toppled down. The samurai then used a jetpack to fly towards Melissa and grabbed her before the Serpentine could get her.
"Hey, wait, what are you doing?" Melissa asked in a panic. "Go back, you forgot Lloyd!"
The samurai then landed on top of the Great Devourer statue as Pythor growled in anger before the samurai did a bow of his performance. He took off with the Golden Weapons and Melissa in his arms.
"HOW DO YOU TURN THIS THING OFF?" Jay screamed as the ninjas were having a hard time trying to control the samurai's mech as it was flying.
But then, the mech did a nose dive right in the middle of the desert and crash-landed. The ninjas got up and recovered from the crash before Jay noticed that someone was missing.
"Where's Kai?" Jay called.
Not too far from them, Kai had his head stuck in the ground before he pulled it out, and removed his hood. He then got up and realized that he was alone.
"Guys!" Kai called out before he noticed the samurai flying ahead, "Huh, the samurai?"
The samurai was flying through the air with Melissa in his arms and she was struggling to get free from his grasp.
"Let me go!" Melissa said with a struggle. "I have to go back to save Lloyd."
"There's too many Serpentine," the samurai told her. "It's too dangerous."
"I don't care!" Melissa exclaimed in anger. "I'm not leaving my best friend behind, so let me go, Nya!"
"Wait, what?" The samurai exclaimed in shock. "Melissa, how did you know it's..."
"I said Let. Me. Go!" Melissa demanded as she slammed her fist onto the samurai's jetpack.
The samurai took notice as the jetpack started sputtering and the samurai held Melissa close to protect her, as they both crash-landed, Kai saw this and he rushed over to where they crashed to see if he was alright.
"Testing...Testing..." The Samurai said as the helmet was not on right and a bit of buzzing was heard, "One...Two..."
The samurai then took off the helmet just when Kai hid behind the rocks to see him, or rather her, when she took off her helmet, Kai saw that her hair looked very familiar.
"Nya?" Kai asked as he approached the samurai and she heard him and quickly put the helmet back on before turning.
"Steer clear, ninja, don't look..." The samurai knew it was over before she took off the helmet revealing that it was indeed Nya, "... At me" She said in shame.
"I don't understand...You're the samurai?" Kai asked his sister.
"It was always a boys club," Nya told him. "You never let me try to help, so I found my own way to be a hero. Are you mad?"
"Mad? Of course not," Kai said. "It's just all this time, I've been trying to protect you and you've never needed it, you're amazing."
"Girl Power!" Nya said as she hit Kai's arm. "You're not gonna tell the others, are you?"
"But, we have a bet. We said whoever caught the samurai would be the Green..." Kai stopped when he saw the pleading look on Nya's face before he sighed. "Of course, I won't say anything, but how did you make all of this stuff?" He asked as he pointed to the jetpack on her back.
"You'd be surprised how much spare time I have waiting for you guys to come back from your missions," Nya told him as she handed him the Golden Weapons. "You better head back before the others get suspicious. We'll have to rescue Lloyd another day."
"I don't think Melissa likes that," Kai said as he and Nya saw Melissa still lying on the ground, visibly upset. "Is she gonna be OK?"
"To be honest, I don't know," Nya admitted with a bit of guilt in her voice. "I wanted to save Lloyd, but Pythor had him in his grasp and I'm not strong enough to take him on."
"You did your best," Kai said as he helped Melissa up and was about to head out and get back to his team, but then he turned back to his sister with a worried look, "And Nya, whenever I get in trouble, the others always have my back but you... Just be careful will you?"
"Promise," Nya said with a nod.
"But, how are you gonna get back?" Kai asked.
"I have my ways," Nya said as she pressed a button on her bracelet.
Back with the others, they continued to search for Kai.
"Kai!" Cole called.
"Kai!" Zane called out next.
As all three of them were continuing to search for Kai, the samurai mech was getting up from the ground, and when they heard a beeping coming from it, they turned to see it leaving.
"Quick, get it, it's gonna get away!" Jay told the others as they raced towards the mech, but it took off before they could get close. "Great, now we lost Kai. The samurai suit is gone, and we have no way to get back," Cole then turned around and saw something heading towards them.
"I wouldn't say that," Cole said as he pointed at Kai who came over the hill with the Golden Weapons, and a still saddened Melissa with him.
Night fell as Destiny's Bounty soared through the skies and the ninjas were in the bathroom brushing their teeth.
"He was all mysterious, never said a word," Kai told them. "Then, he handed me Melissa and the Golden Weapons, and poof, he was gone."
"Poof? He just poofed?" Cole asked.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute, Kai," Jay spoke up, "If the samurai had his hands on the most powerful weapons in the whole wide world, why would he just hand them back to you?" He asked as Nya walked by them.
"I don't know maybe she's..." Kai then saw Nya giving him a pleading look. "Uh, I mean, he's not so bad." He covered up, "All I do know, is that we owe him our lives and maybe he made all our lives better."
"I sense this means the bet is off?" Zane guessed.
"More importantly, my nephew has found his way into the den of all snakes," Wu told them. "I fear, there may be no way of rescuing him now."
"Sensei, there's always a way," Kai told him.
"And, don't worry, we'll find it," Cole added.
Wu gave a small smile before he left the room. He then saw Nya down the hall heading towards Lloyd and Melissa's room to check on Melissa, and he went up to her.
"I believe you forgot this," Wu said as he held up one of her samurai blades and handed it back to her. "Iron Sharpens Iron, and Sibling Sharpens Sibling."
Nya smiled as Wu walked away, and then she went into the room and saw Melissa sitting on her bed looking very upset. Nya felt sorry for her and sat down right beside her.
"Melissa, I'm very sorry for not helping Lloyd," Nya apologized with a guilty tone in her voice, "But you have to understand that there's way too many Serpentine there, and I'm just one samurai and you aren't a ninja, so we don't stand a chance."
Melissa was still silent and Nya saw that she was not in the mood for talking and just wanted to be left alone, which is completely understandable.
"I can see that you just want to be alone for a bit, and I understand," Nya then got up and was about to leave the room, but before she did, she looked at Melissa. "My room is always open if you ever wanna talk, and I promise that someday soon we will save Lloyd and bring him back home."
Nya then closed the door, and Melissa looked at a picture that was beside her bed and it was of her and Lloyd with the rest of the ninjas. Melissa smiled looking at it, and then she rubbed her thumb across the picture where Lloyd was, and then Melissa gave a determined look.
"Nya's right, we will save Lloyd and we're not gonna stop until he's back with us and... With me," Melissa then walked towards the window and looked out of it to see the nighttime sky. "Don't worry, Lloyd, I promise that we will see each other again and that I will save you, even if I have to become a ninja to do it."
Melissa then put the picture back on her desk and then she lay on her bed and went to sleep, ready to begin her mission to save her best friend.
To be continued...
A/N: And here's The Snake King. Sorry it took so long, we had to handle our personal lives, and the next chapter will probably take a bit longer like a few weeks or a few months, but anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and it looks like Melissa has a new goal to save her best friend. Leave a review and tell us what you think.
Up next: Zane discovers something about himself
Here's the cast list:
Jillian Michaels as Lloyd, Fan 2 and Selma; Tara Strong as Melissa; Vincent Tong as Kai and Venomari; Andrew Francis as Cole; Michael Adamthwaite as Jay, Fangpyer and Postman; Brent Miller as Zane; Kelly Metzger as Nya and Fan 1; Paul Dobson as Wu and Acidicus; Michael Dobson as Pythor and Samurai (disguised voice); Tabitha St. Germain as Rattalia; Ian James Corlett as Skales; Mackenzie Gray as Fangtom; John Novak as Skalidor and Constrictai.