Meanwhile underground, Krux and Acronix are walking down the sewer tunnels to their hideout with the Vermillion warriors behind with equipment and a few dragging the weakened and aging Wu. "Such balance. Such power." Krux said as he held up the slow mo blade. "When Ninjago is finally under our rule, they will sing songs about our triumph today, brother. And-"
"Oh, you're so right, brother." Acronix interrupted as he turned to Krux and looked behind him. "How are you both doing back there, Wu?" They all stopped as Wu gave no reply. "Perhaps they've gone deaf with old age."
"Unfortunately not. I can still hear your attempts at humor." Wu added with the same expression as the Hands of Time gave a laugh as they walked ahead.
"Move it, old man." Machia ordered as she pushed Wu forward as they walked ahead.
"This stinks." Blunck said to Raggmunck with a look. "She got the Time Blade back. Totally made us look bad with Krux and Acronix."
"I wouldn't worry about it." Raggmunck waved off. "They still need us."
"Commander Blunck, Commander Raggmunk, we need you!" Krux called out to the two commanders.
"See?" Raggmuck said with a smile. "Coming!" He said as he and Blunck rushed up to the Hooves of Time.
"As you know, my brother and I had been worried about the leadership of the Vermillion Warriors." Krux started. "And this mission certainly did not go as planned. The idea was simply to obtain the Time Blade, and in hopes of getting my daughters to join us. But now we are carrying two prisoners."
"Here it comes." Blunck said slowly.
"Someone's in trouble." Raggmunk added.
Acronix then turned to Machia. "Commander Machia, your initiative in capturing the Ninja's masters impressed us. You are promoted to the rank of Supreme Commander of the Vermillion Army." He declared.
"I am honored." Machia said with a bow.
"Commanders Blunck and Raggmunk will report directly to you." Krux stated, which shocked the two commanders.
"What?! Underserved!" Raggmunk exclaimed.
"So unfair." Blunck added.
"Did you say something?" Machia questioned as she turned to the two commanders with a glare.
"Well-deserved." Raggmunk quickly said nervously.
"So unfair… that it took so long." Blunck added with a nervous look.
"Isn't all this celebrating and promoting a bit premature?" Wu questioned with a serious expression. "My Ninja are still out there, they will find you and they will stop you."
"Nine of them against all this?" Krux questioned with a smirk as he turned and saw the entrance of the swamp. "They have no leader, they have no Time Blades, they have no chance." He bragged.
"One can only imagine how helpless they must feel." Acronix said with a smirk as Wu gave him a glare. "Almost." He added as he and everyone else all shared a laugh as Acronix quickly went into his borg watch.
"What are you doing?!" Krux questioned his brother.
"Sharing this with all my InstaBook followers." Acronix said as he took a selfie and started saying the words that appeared. "Achieved… total… victory." He said with a smile.
"Why must you ruin every good moment with your modern techno-garbage?!" Krux exclaimed as his brother gave an annoyed expression.
"And why must you be so stubborn about staying in the ancient past?!" Acronix countered.
"I hate to interrupt this vastly important discussion but may I ask a question," Wu suddenly spoke up, "All your troops were at the Airjitzu Temple, correct?" He questioned.
"Most of them. We had some back at the hideout to guard our prisoners." Krux answered with a look.
"And Demir was left here, unchained and unguarded by your commanders?" Wu continued with a brow.
"Why, of course not-" Acronix trailed off when he realized something as he turned to his brother. "Uh, brother, how many commanders did you make?"
"Just three. And they're right here." Krux said as he gestured to Machia and the two commanders. "Why?"
"Okay, if those three were with us, outside the swamp, then who with high intelligence was watching the Master of Metal?" Acronix questioned.
This made Krux's eyes widened as he realized what his brother meant as he facepalmed himself. "Oh, for the love of-! Supreme Commander Machia, why did you not post Blunck or Raggmunk to guard the Metal Ninja?!" He demanded.
Machia then got nervous from that. "It… It hasn't occurred to me. We had so many troops in the swamp before we left, he wouldn't dare to even try to escape." She said in defense.
"Grrr! You better hope that he hasn't already escaped!" Krux threatened as he and Acronix glared at her. "Otherwise, your next duty will be most unpleasant!" He warned as Wu gave a smirk as they walked up to the swamp while some glowing eyes was seen in the shadows.
At the swamp, Demir managed to get out of the main building as he snuck around the swamp while hiding from the Vermillion Warriors that walked past him as he sighed. "I hate to leave Borg behind, but he insisted on leaving him behind." He muttered before looking around. "I'm still getting over the fact that there's a swamp this close to Ninjago City." He commented before he rushed and hid behind a tree.
Demir looked around while trying to search for something. "And how many of these Vermillion Eggs did Krux breed?" He questioned tiredly. "If these eggs hatch, there's no way we'll be able to stop them. I need to map out this whole place." He said as he brought a pen and parchment he then continued his way through the swamp while writing down what he sees.
Back at the Airjitzu Temple, the Ninja gather around the dojo while Misako watches them as Lloyd and Lydie are in front of them. "Hey, this fight is far from over." Lydie said with a serious look. "I know we had a setback, but-"
"It's always darkest before dawn. Blah, blah, blah." Kai said while leaning on a pillar while looking at the symbol on the helmet. "Come on. Let's get going already, okay?"
"Kai-" Nya tried to say.
"We don't need a pep talk." Kai said with a serious look. "We need action."
"I agree." Lydie said, which surprised the group. "They actually gave us a break by taking the Time Blade."
"How is that a break?" Cole questioned.
"No, my sister is on to something." Lloyd said to them. "If any of you captured something that powerful, what would you do?"
"Um, immediately haul it back home to show off to you guys." Jay guessed with a small smile.
"Right!" Lydie nodded with a smile. "And unless I miss my guess, that's exactly where the Hands of Time are headed as we speak. Their home."
"So, if we find the Time Blade…" Cole started with a smile.
"We can find Acronix and Krux's base." Zane finished with a smile.
"And if we can find their base, we find the prisoners they've taken." Morro said with a smile.
"Which means finding Wu and Demir!" Rose said with a smile.
"Hey, Zane, you think you can locate the Blade with your temporal scanner?" Lydie asked Zane.
"Attempting access." Zane said as he then closed his eyes, but got glitches as he sighed. "I am afraid it was damaged when we fought the Vermillion Warriors." He said with a frown as Jay gave a laugh. "I fail to see the humor, Jay."
"I still think Vermillion Warriors is a stupid name!" Jay chuckled.
"Not the point, Jay." Morro said with a dull look. "Well, Zane's scanner is down, how are we gonna track the Blade?"
"I could see if the scanner on the Destiny's Bounty still works." Nya suggested.
"Yes. Good thinking, Nya." Lydie said with a smile.
"And the rest of you should go to the museum." Nya added. "Krux hid in plain sight there as Dr. Saunders for 40 years. I'll bet there's a clue where their secret headquarters is."
"Okay, let's split up." Lloyd said as they stood up.
"Uh… I'll help you, sis." Kai said as he walked up to them.
"One question: how are we gonna get to the Museum?" Cole questioned, "All our rides got trashed by the snakes."
"We still have our dragons," Lloyd suggested.
"Oh, no." Lydie shook her head, her hands up. "Last time I used my dragon, it just took one second of fear and it vanished. And with how worried we are for Wu and Demir lately, that last one is for you, Rose…" She said as Rose gave an embarrassed look. "We can't rely on our Power Dragons during missions. So from this point on, let's avoid doing that during missions."
"She got a point." Jay said in agreement. "When my mom was kidnapped, I was too freaked to even summon my dragon."
"Okay, so no dragons." Lloyd said in understanding. "Uh, we have the Super Sonic Raider jet."
"Uh, actually, heh, heh…" Jay said with a sheepish look. "My dad's still kind of working on that."
At the outside of the Airjitzu Temple, Ed was fixing up the port wing of theSuper Sonic Raider jet, but when a butterfly landed on it, the wing broke off as Ed sighed as he placed a hand to his face, seeing there's still a few kinks to fix.
"Well, Ed did manage to fix up my jet and Cole's car," Morro told them.
"And Rose and I can take the lightning bike." Jay added as they went to the exit.
"Kai and I have our old bikes." Nya added.
"Wait, what about me, Lloyd, and Zane?" Lydie asked, as the remaining three are without vehicles.
Misako then turned to them, "Well, I was saving this for your birthday but," She held up a remote and a secret hatched open up from the dojo floor while coming out was a miniature version of the Destiny's Bounty. "The Destiny Shadow." She said as Lloyd and Lydie looked at it in awe.
"Oh, come on!" Kai exclaimed with a look. "First Jay, now Lloyd and Lydie?! Does everyone get a new ride for their birthday?!" He questioned as he turned and saw the others gave weird looks as he realized what he said. "Uh- I said that out loud, didn't I?" He asked sheepishly.
"Yeah, pretty much." Morro said with a nod.
Lydie gave a giddy squeal as she hugged Misako, "It's awesome, mom! Thank you!" She cheered.
"We love it! Dibs on the first drive!" Lloyd declared as he hopped into the Driver seat.
"Hey! No fair!" Lydie complained with a look as she and Zane got on.
Soon, the three got onto the Destiny's Shadow as Misako gave a frown. "I wish Wu could have seen this." She said sadly.
"Oh, he will." Lloyd said with a smile. "We'll get him back sooner or later." He assured.
"It's later I worry about." Misako said with a frown, which made the Ninja turn to her in confusion.
"Huh? Uh… What does that mean?" Jay asked in confusion as Misako realized what she said.
"I can't." Misako said with a frown while holding her hands. "He made me promise not to tell you."
"Mom, we're a team." Lloyd spoke up.
"Yeah, we don't keep secrets from each other." Lydie added with a frown.
Misako frowned as she sighed, realizing that they needed to know. "When Wu fought Acronix alone at the temple, he was struck with a punch powered by the Time Blade." She explained, which worried the others as Morro's eyes widened in horror. "The hit unleashed the forward energy of time onto him, and the effect is…"
"Master Wu is rapidly again." Zane finished in realization. "Of course. That explains his recent fatigue and the rambling."
Jay gasped. "And the super-long old guy beard!" He added after seeing how big Wu's beard was earlier, bigger than usual.
"Wait, wait, Misako, you mean to tell us Wu, has been aging this whole time?" Morro asked in shock. "That Time Punch is Acronix's most powerful move. But when I saw him use it back in the old days, it did not have that kind of effect, so how is it possible to rapidly age someone?!"
"Even I was caught off guard." Misako said with a frown. "But Wu said that Acronix told him that the Time Blade gave the Time Punch a greater effect than it was before. And I don't even know if the effect can be reversed." She finished as she sighed sadly.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Morro said as he remembered something. "The Time Blade Acronix hit Wu with the Time Blade of Forward, that moves forward in time, right?"
"Yeah, we know that." Jay said with a brow.
"Think about it? If the Time Blade of Forward forwards the flow of time and can make someone age faster, maybe the opposite of it can undo it." Morro stated with a hopeful smile. "And what is the opposite of going forward in time?"
"Reversal?" Rose asked in wondered before she remembered. "Wait, if Acronix and Krux both have opposite powers, and if Forward rapidly ages someone, then that means Krux's power of Reversal, can cure someone of the Forward Time Punch?"
"Exactly!" Morro nodded, which lifted their spirits up.
"Yeah, yeah. That could work!" Lydie said with a hopeful smile.
"Yeah, that might work." Misako said with a hopeful smile.
"But the error in this plan is that we need to find the Reversal Blade if we wanna cure Master Wu." Zane spoke up, which made the others groaned.
"Zane has a point, how are we gonna find the Reversal Blade?" Rose asked.
"We'll worry about that later." Lydie said seriously. "We need to get moving before uncle age to dust."
"She's right. Come on, Zane." Lloyd said as Zane hopped onto the Destiny's Shadow as Lloyd started pressing some buttons.
"Good hunting kids, stay safe." Misako said with a smile at her children.
"We will, mom." Lydie said with a smile as Lloyd kept pressing buttons.
"Anytime now." Zane said awkwardly.
"It's a lot of buttons," Lloyd said in defense as he kept trying, which made a car horn go off as the others chuckled in amusement as music started playing before Lydie shook her head, stepped beside Lloyd and pressed a button that started up the engine. "I was… gonna press that next." He said embarrassedly.
"Sure you were." Lydie said with a smirk. "Let's ride!" She declared as Lloyd quickly took the wheel.
Outside, the Destiny's Shadow took off with Morro's jet following as Cole, Rose, and Jay followed them while on the ground as they took off into the city.
On the ground, Kai and Nya are at the Bounty as they were on the bridge while trying to fix the monitors that were wrecked during the attack. "Pretty lucky, Lydie agreed to let you split from the group." Kai said to his sister with a knowing smirk. "Almost like you had something in mind."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nya said, not looking at her brother.
"You still wanna find out who got your Samurai X suit, don't you?" Kai asked with a smirk.
"After we fix the scanners, of course." Nya answered with a smirk.
"Oh, yes, of course." Kai nodded with a smile. "You're fixated, sis."
"Says the guy still carrying around the snake helmet." Nya argued as she brought out the snake helmet Kai brought, which made Kai go silent for a bit. "What is it, Kai?" She asked her brother in concern. "Something's been bothering you. Is everything okay?"
Kai gave a sigh. "When I was fighting Dr. Saunders-Krux. He told me something." Kai said as he inspected the helmet again and looked at the stamp. "Something you need to know. This stamp. Do you know who it belongs to?" He asked.
"No." Nya said.
"Our father." Kai revealed.
At night in Ninjago City, the members of the ground drew by while the Destiny's Shadow flew overhead. "Whoa!" Lloyd called as the Destiny Shadow flung around.
"Easy, Lloyd!" Lydie shouted as she and Zane held onto the vehicle.
"Ugh! I have no idea what any of these buttons do." Lloyd said as he looked at the controls. "And it doesn't come with a user's manual."
"You think mother should really put one in this." Lydie commented as she held onto the ship. "We're surprised you haven't crashed it yet."
"I'm on it." Zane called out before he looked forward. "Pixal, please do a vehicular spec analysis." He then quickly realized something he forgot. "Oh right, she's still offline. I'll do it myself." He reached for a plug before attaching it to his head. "The Destiny's Shadow has four offensive weapons, seven defensive systems, five transformative reconfigurations, and one mini fridge." He informed them as he opened up a mini fridge below him and took out a juice box. "Beverage?"
"Maybe later." Lloyd said.
"Yeah, save it, Zane." Lydie said as they flew down the streets until they made it to the museum as they parked their rides
Back on the Bounty, Nya was reeling from what Kai revealed, "How do you know our father made this?" Nya asked her brother.
"A blacksmith always puts his stamps on everything he makes." Kai explained before tossing the helmet over to his sister. "And I have seen our father's symbol on every Vermillion Warrior helmet we found."
"So…?" Nya asked in confusion.
"So… it means that our father must be working for the Hands of Time." Kai told her.
"Kai, that doesn't make any sense." Nya spoke up.
"Sure it does." Kai said as he looked at a console. "Krux told me our ancestors were traitors. What better way to betray the Elemental Masters than to forge armor for their enemies, like out."
"And you believe Krux?" Nya questioned.
Kai then kicked the console. "What about the painting at the museum, where the Elemental Masters were fighting the Hands of Time?" He questioned.
"Yeah." Nya said before Kai kicked the console again.
"Mom and Dad were the only ones not in it." Kai explained.
"No way, I refuse to believe our parents were villains without real proof." Nya told her brother. Kai had enough as he slammed his hands on the consoles, which reactivated the monitor. "Ha! What do you know? I thought that only worked in cartoons." Nya commented in surprise.
"Fire it up." Nya said as she went into the console and started typing as Kai gave it another slam, which shorted it out as the motherboard sparked up. "I can still work on that." She said before the motherboard went up in flames as Kai coughed.
"Face it, the scanners are toast." Kai said to them.
"What do we do now?" Nya asked with a sigh.
"Join up with the others at the museum, I guess." Kai said with a shrug. Soon, the two exited the Bounty as Kai and Nya were on their bikes. "Ready?" He asked his sister.
"Yes." Nya said with a smile. "Although… I might make a quick detour along the way." She added before Kai laughed. "Before you say it, no, I'm not obsessed with the Samurai X suit. I just need to know who has it." She lied before Kai gave her a 'really' look. "Okay, I'm obsessed." Nya admitted with a sigh. "Just… You gotta have to cover for me with the others."
"Alright." Kai said with a smile. "We'll split up. Because I need to take a side trip of my own." He said with determination as they drove in separate directions, Kai to the left and Nya to the right.
At the Ninjago City Museum, the Ninja were searching for any clues for the Hands of Time. "Nothing." Lloyd said as Zane looked underneath a table.
"Negative." Zane said to them next.
"Ugh, this was a waste of time!" Morro exclaimed as he tossed away multiple artifacts as Zane caught them, "There's nothing but useless old junk," He said, batting a Ming vase as Zane rushed to keep it from falling.
"Hey! Morro! Can you take it easy?!" Lydie yelled as she walked up to Morro. "We know this is Krux's old stuff, but some of it is priceless!" She scolded.
"Bill me!" Morro retorted, walking to a vase, "That crook captured my dad! If that old fossil was here, I'd be breaking a lot more than his pottery!"
Morro smirked as he moved the vase around as Zane panicked and moved to catch it before Morro tossed the vase to the other side as Zane quickly caught it.
"Well, it looks like you're fully functional again, Zane." Rose said as she got the vase off the Ice Ninja.
"Except for my inability to interface with Pixal, yes." Zane said with a frown. "It is highly frustrating then the alternate timeline where Nadakhan deleted her from my systems."
"How about you, Cole? Earth Punch under control?" Lloyd asked the Earth Ninja, who is across the room.
"Oh, yeah. I am totally dialed in." Cole said with a smile as he activated his Earth Punch and did a few punches before he punched a wall, creating a huge hole. "Uh, okay, mostly totally dialed in." He said as the others rushed up to them.
"Guys! There's a secret room." Lydie said in surprise.
"Yeah! Heh." Cole said with a sheepish smile. "'Cause obviously, I meant to do that." He said.
Soon, Kai walked up to his parents' old blacksmith shop, 'Four Weapons', as he entered and looked around with a fond sigh. "Home." He said with a smile as he remembered the fond memories when he was little.
At Nya's old Samurai X cave, she stopped at the main room and got off her bike. "The Vermillion Warriors are totally picking up the bill for my cleaning service." Nya said as she looked at the damage the Vermillion Warriors caused in the cave while fixing Zane. But then she turned and saw something that made her gasp. "I knew it." She said as she saw the mysterious Samurai X in front of her.
At the blacksmith shop, Kai gasped as he looked at the gong with the same stamp that was on the helmet. "I knew it." He said.
At the museum, the rest of the group walked into the secret hideout as they gasped at what they saw. "I don't believe it." Lloyd said in shock as they saw the Vermillion Eggs in tanks.
At the Swamp, Demir was standing on a Tree Branch and saw a massive building where the captured people were working and gasped, "I don't believe it!" Demir breathed out in shock.
At the blacksmith shop, Kai looked at the symbol on the gong as he placed his hand on it. "What does this mean? What does this mean?" He questioned as he slammed his hand on the gong in frustration, which opened a secret trap door below him as Kai quickly avoided as he looked at the trap door.
Kai then flew down until he gasped and saw a secret room with two banners of fire and water while in the middle was a golden double blade with one side with a blue and red color on either side with a dragon head engraved on both blades as one was breathing fire while the other was breathing water. The whole room was filled with old weapons as Kai flew to the floor and walked up to it as he noticed the same stamp on the handle.
"What else were you making down here, father?" Kai questioned before he looked at a familiar helmet on a wall.
Back at the Samurai X cave, Nya was surprised by seeing the mysterious samurai in front of her before she gave a glare. "Return to the scene of the crime, huh? Maybe you're one of the Vermillion Warriors after all." Nya said as she got into a ready stance.
"Those snake samurais are no friend of mine." The Samurai said in Ronin's voice as he walked up to a chair.
"Ronin?" Nya asked in surprise. "Can't be. Ronin's leg is-"
"Broken." 'Ronin' said in realization. "Right. Forgot. Maybe I'm Dareth. The Brown Ninja." He said as he spoke in Dareth's voice.
"Wait. What?" Nya asked in disbelief. "How did you-" She then sighed. "Okay, fine, Dareth." She said with her eyes rolled. "I want my suit back." She said as she ran up to 'Dareth' and started throwing punches, but 'Dareth' kept blocking them.
"Chill, Nya. I don't wanna fight…" 'Dareth' said as he kept blocking each strike.
Nya gave a sigh. "Impressive." She said with a smirk. "But that pretty much rules out you being Dareth," She said, knowing Dareth couldn't possibly have these skills.
"Good point." The Samurai said in Misako's voice now. "Perhaps I'm Misako."
"Liar!" Nya shouted before she kicked 'Misako' back hard as she rolled back to the edge before she managed to stop. Nya charged at her as 'Misako' moved to avoid a kick while also grabbing her back leg to prevent her from falling as the two rolled across the room on the chair. "You're not Misako! She has too much honor to steal my armor!" She shouted as the two kept fighting before they tip over.
"Garmadon has a nasty side." The Samurai said in Garmadon's voice. "Maybe that's who I am." He said before he kicked Nya off as the two laid on the floor.
"Garmadon sacrificed himself for good! Now he's gone forever! Just like my patience!" Nyaa shouted with a look. "Reveal yourself!"
"Sorry, Nya." The Samurai spoke in Demir's voice. "Can't do that, I'm afraid."
"Demir?!" Nya exclaimed in shock before shaking her head. "No, Demir is still in Acronix and Krux's hands! So who are you!"
"I could be anyone, or no-one, Sis. Either way, you're not gonna find out," The Samurai mocked in Kai's voice.
"I know you're not my brother!" Nya shouted in anger.
"You're right but nor am I your enemy, Water-Girl," The Samurai stated in Lydie's voice.
"But I'm yours, you thief!" Nya shouted as she stood up and glared at the Samurai.
Back at the museum's secret room, the Ninja were searching around the hideout. "What's this?" Lloyd asked while looking at the eggs in the tank.
"It looks like a breeding tank for snake eggs." Zane noted.
"I have a feeling where Krux was getting his army from." Rose said with a frown.
"Look." Jay spoke up as he held up some blueprints. "Plans for armor, weapons and a bunch of I-don't-know-what." He said as Ruby took the blueprints and inspected each one.
"And tanks and vehicles, Jay." Rose said while looking at the blueprints. "Looks like Krux was preparing longer than we thought. But the rest of the blueprints are hard to tell."
"What's interesting is what is not here." Zane said to them. "No computer, no modern equipment or any kind."
"Krux is an old school kinda guy, Zane." Morro said with a shrug. "From what I can tell, he's more old fashioned than Acronix, since Acronix loved anything new."
"I can only imagine the sibling bickering because of that." Lydie joked with a chuckle.
"Got something!" Cole called out as he gestured to a door as he opened it and the others came to him as they saw the entrance to the sewers.
"Whoa. A hidden door inside a hidden lab?" Lloyd asked in surprise.
"Well, this must lead somewhere important." Lydie said as Jay gave a chuckle.
"Hopefully not a bathroom that Krux really didn't like to share." Jay joked.
"Dude, that's gross." Morro said with a brow.
"We're going down there, aren't we?" Rose asked in disgust. "It looks rather disgusting and revolting."
"What other choice do we have?" Lydie asked with a shrug as they all then walked through the tunnels of the sewers. While the boys went ahead, Lydie and Rose hung back, "Don't worry, we'll find Wu and Demir," She assured.
"I just can't help but wonder if he's okay, or not," Rose said with a hand to her chest, "What is this feeling, this tightening in my chest?" She asked in confusion.
"It's the same feeling I had when I thought we lost Morro on the Day of the Departed," Lydie said with a smile and squeezing her shoulder, "I think it's clear that Demir is very special to you, Rose. And I think you know what I mean by that."
Rose blushed and looked away, "Maybe, maybe you speak the truth," She admitted.
"Don't worry, we'll see him again, so let's move," Lydie said as Rose nodded and they pressed onwards.
Back at the Four Weapons blacksmith shop, Kai held up the two helmets and compared them. "Really old, brand new. How did I not put it together?" Kai questioned before he sighs. "There's only one person who could possibly understand what I'm going through." He said as he then looked at the golden double blade as he picked it up.
Back at the Samurai X cave, Nya and the Samurai kept fighting each other before Nya was about to fall over the edge while doing a single hand-stand but the Samurai caught her leg. "Not bad. You clearly mastered several different fighting styles."
"Such high praise coming from the former Samurai X," The Samurai spoke in Wu's voice.
"You're right. I'm not Samurai X anymore. I'm the Master of Water!" Nya called as she sent a water blast at the Samurais. "It's over! Reveal your identity!"
"I-I can't!" The Samurai spoke in Cole's voice.
"You must!" Nya demanded as the Samurai spoke up.
"Never! I hide my identity to protect the innocent, to protect those who can't protect themselves!" The Samurai spoke in Nya's voice which sounded scared as Nya listened in shock, almost feeling she was listening to herself. "My friends, allies and the one I love most would be at risk if my enemies knew who I really was! You were me once, so you would know this!"
"I…I do…" Nya said with understanding. The Samurai then help Nya right up and away from the edge.
At the Swamp, Demir finished writing the location of the Warehouse, "Alright, now I know where the hostages are being held, the dungeons, the laboratory, and most of Project: Iron Doom, the only location I need to find is," He trailed off, seeing the one blank part of his map and looked across the swamp, "The Blacksmith Shop?" He said confusedly before moving on.
Demir inspected and saw many armor and weapons that were forged as he noticed the blacksmith making more armor as Demir quickly hid when the blacksmith turned around as he quickly drew it down on the final part of the map. "Okay, now I know where the Hands of Time first got some armor." He muttered as he quickly moved away.
Demir rushed to a clearing as he looked around. "Okay, now I just need to get out of here." He said while looking around and seeing tons of Vermillion Warriors on patrol. "Mmm, it's gonna be a hassle to break through them. So I might need to be quick and quiet," He said, as he started searching for another way.
Back in the sewers, the group were walking down the tunnels. "Maybe Nya and Kai got the scanners back online." Jay said to them.
"No, we'd have heard from them by now." Lloyd told him as a drop of sewage fell on Rose's head, causing her to let out a shriek.
"Oh, I just cleaned this suit!" Rose complained "I really hate the sewers!"
Just then, they heard squeaking sounds before they looked up and saw a bunch of spiders above them, "AAHH! SPIDERS!" Lydie shrieked, jumping into Morro's arms.
They screamed as well as they ran down the tunnel before they turned a corner as they took a breather before Morro realized that he was carrying Lydie as he gave a smirk. "Still not over your fears of spiders, huh?" He asked with a smirk as Lydie blushed in embarrassment and giggled.
"Eh-he-he-he, Have you been working out?" Lydie asked in embarrassment as she got down.
"I still can't believe the Daughter of Dark Lord is afraid of teensy weensy spiders," Jay joked with a chuckle.
"They're eight-legged freaks of nature with poisonous fangs!" Lydie told them hotly.
"Not all spiders are poisonous, you know." Cole told her.
"The Tiger Widow?" Lydie questioned with a look.
"Okay minus that one." Cole said sheepishly. "But still not all of them are poisonous."
"It's true, and I believe some people have tarantulas as pets." Zane added.
"Can we please get back to the mission and drop the spider thing, please?!" Lydie questioned as she rubbed her head.
"Yeah, uh, you wouldn't happen to have a reconfigurable amphibious vehicle with you, would you?" Jay asked the Garma-Twins with a sheepish smile.
"No." Both Lloyd and Lydie said dully.
"Actually, we might." Zane spoke up. "Let me access those specs of the Destiny's Shadow again." He said as he then looked at the specs of the Destiny's Shadow. "Reconfiguration 3 of the Destiny's Shadow is the Experimental Amphibious Multi-Terrain Assault Vehicle, XAMTAV." He said.
"Oh, that's a catchy name." Jay said with a chuckle. "XAMTAV. Heh. That sounds like a laxative. No wonder Kai was so jealous." He said before the tunnel shook as they all screamed before the Destiny's Shadow came up to them.
"Uh, how did it get here so fast?" Rose questioned in confusion.
"I took the liberty of using the museum Wi-Fi to interface with the Destiny's Shadow and bring it here." Zane explained with a smile.
"Sure beats walking." Lydie said with a shrug as they all got on the Destiny's Shadow and took off.
Back at the Samurai X Cave, Nya placed a hand on Samurai X's Shoulder, "Whoever you are, you've proven you're worthy to be the new Samurai X," Nya said with a smile.
"Thank you." The Samurai said in Nya's voice.
"But stop using my voice." Nya said with a smile. "It's creeping me out. Okay?"
"Okay." The Samurai said in a synthetic voice.
"I guess all of this is yours, now." Nya said as she gestured to the cave.
"Heh. Thanks." Samurai X said.
"Oh, and the Vermillion Warriors didn't wreck everything." Nya said as she went up to the console and pressed a button as a new Samurai Vehicle appeared from behind a storage room.
"Aw, nice." The Samurai said before Nya's phone started buzzing.
Nya answered it as she looked at the message. "Guess the phones are back up. Gotta go, it's my brother. Need to meet with him right away." She said as she rushed up to her bike before she gave a smirk to Samurai X. "One more thing, red's my thing. You gotta find a new color, Skylor." She said with a smirk as she power up her bike.
"Hmm. A girl's gotta have her secrets. Right?" The Samurai said with a shrug with Skylor's voice.
"Knew it." Nya said before she drove off.
The Samurai then gave a thoughtful look. "Hmm. New color?" It asked as the Samurai walked off.
Back at the sewers, the group piled up on the Destiny's Shadow as they rode down the sewer tunnels. "Does anyone have any idea where we're going?!" Jay questioned.
"Not really." Lydie answered.
"I'm trying to track our progress, but these tunnels are confusing." Zane said to them.
"What is it with villains and their total lack of signage?" Cole questioned.
"I think that's how they kept their hideout hidden, darling." Rose said with a brow.
"Frost, any chance the Destiny's Shadow has a temporal scanner?" Lloyd asked.
"Unfourtainly not. But it does have a collision avoidance system that indicates multiple targets ahead." Zane informed them while looking at a monitor with red dots.
"Ambush!" Lydie called as she hit the brakes.
"Ah, ah! Finally, some payback!" Morro called as they stopped to the side as Morro and Jay jumped off and tackled a couple of figures.
"Lights. Lights. Lights!" Jay shouted as Lydie ran up to the light switch and shone a light on Morro, Ja , and the two figures who were wrestling them.
"Wait! Wait! Morro! Jay! Let them go, False alarm! It's just Skales!" She shouted as Jay and Morro got off to reveal the Hypnobrai General shielding a Hypnobrai boy.
"And my son, Skalesss jr." Skales said with a look.
"Ha! Imaginative name." Jay joked at Skales Jr. "Took you long to come up with that?
"Out of my way, Blue Boy!" Junior said as he pushed Jay down.
"What are you two doing down here," Rose asked the two Hypnobrai.
""Don't you know, Rose?" Jay asked in confusion. "They're sewage experts."
"I mean what are you doing down here now?" Rose asked as they jumped down and walked up to Skales.
"Tracking the Vermillion Warriorssss along with these Constrictai by order of Queen Burmessssia." Skales explained as he gestured to Skalidor and a few Constrictai at the side.
"Why? Looking to join them?" Morro questioned with a look.
"No, to avoid them." Junior said firmly as he pushed Morro, but his father pushed him away.
"SSSon, no. They don't understand." Skales said to him.
"We don't understand what?" Lydie asked Skales.
"You don't know what you're dealing with, do you?" Skales asked in concern. "The Vermillion Warriorssss are the pure firsssst generation progeny of the Great Devourer." He revealed.
"I have never heard of them." Zane said in confusion.
"Because we don't sssspeak of them." Skales answered. "They have the ssssame ssssingular drive as the Great Devourer. To consssssume everything in their path."
"We fought them," Jay said seriously. "They aren't so tough."
"In ssssmall numbers, no." Skales said while giving a grim look. "But if Krux and Acronix are able to raisssse and equip enough of them, they will be an unsssstoppable horde. A sssswarm of Vermillion that no one can sssstop."
"We did see breeding tanks in Krux's lab." Rose noted.
"That's sufficient to sssstart the growth processss for a few Warriors." Skales stated to them. "But creating a large army requires a very sssspecific environment. A swamp. They are using a sssswamp."
"Can you tell us where it is?" Lloyd asked Skales.
"I can." Skales nodded.
"Can you take us there?" Lydie asked next.
"I cannot." Skales shook his head. "I have a family to protect and must report back to Queen Burmesssia. But I can give you a map to it." He said as he gave the map to Zane. "The Constrictai are reconnaisssssance expertssss. I must warn you, there's more going on there than jussst raisssing eggsss. They're reading them for war. And they have your masssster and your metal friend with them."
"We know." Lydie said with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Skales." She said as the Ninja then got on the Destiny's Shadow.
"Uh… Sorry if I jump to conclusions, junior. Heh." Jay said sheepishly.
"Don't call me, 'junior'." Skales Jr said firmly.
Morro gave a chuckle. "I think I like that kid." She said with a smile.
"Don't call me 'kid' either." Skales Jr added as Morro gave a laugh.
"Now I know I like him." Morro said as the Desinty's Shadow started up and took off.
"Good luck Ninjal!" Skales said to them before he gave a concerned look. "They're going to need it." He said to his son.
"Sure. Just as long as they keep out of my way." Skales Jr said
At Chen's noodle house, Kai was sitting on a chair while having the helmets beside him as he was talking to someone. "It's just that it's shocking to find out that your father, someone you have idolized your entire life turns out to be-" He trailed off as he gave a sigh. "There's no other word for it… evil. It makes you question everything you know. Everything you are. Which is why I came to you." He said to the figure. "Because you went through the same thing. And I-" He trailed off as Nya came in through the door as Kai gasped. "Nya! Over here!"
"Glad you called, because I found out who took my Samurai X gear, Skylor has them and she's Samurai X." Nya told her brother when she went up to the table, but did a double take when she saw Skylor sitting in front of him.
"Am I now, I have no idea. Does this also mean I get that cool armor and cave of yours?" Skylor asked with a grin while Nya looked confused.
"Uh… It has to be you." Nya said in shock. "Everything fits. The skills, the different fighting styles, the voices."
"Sorry to disappoint." Skylor shrugs with a smile.
"I don't suppose she just got here seconds before I did." Nya said to her brother, who shook his head. "Then I still don't know who Samurai X is! I don't believe it!" She said in disbelief while ruffling her hair.
"We can solve that riddle later." Kai said to his sister. "Nya, I have news for you. And it's not good. You better sit down." He said as he scooted over for Nya to sit in.
"I'm gonna get some noodles." Skylor said as she stood up and went to get noodles.
"I went back to the blacksmith shop." Kai said to his sister. "What Krux told me is true. Our father was indeed a traitor."
"No. He couldn't have been." Nya denied.
"He was." Kai said to her as he looked down. "And still are. Nya, our father… he's alive."
"But… that's impossible." Nya said in disbelief as Kai showed her the rusted helmet. "A rusty old helmet. So?"
"So, this one is new." Kai said as he showed the snake helmet he carried that it was similar to the rusted one. "Our dad was making them right under our nose. Which can only mean…" He started before Nya gasped in shock.
"Our father is still alive." Nya said in shock.
"And working for the Hands of Time." Kai added with a serious look. "But here's the worst part. What does that mean for us? Are we destined to turn evil?"
"Of course you're not." Skylor said as she came over with three bowls of noodles. "Our parents leave behind their legacies, not their destinies. We choose who we become. Noodles? Nice and hot. They always cheer me up." She said with a smile as she gave them the noodles.
"No thanks. I lost my appetite." Kai said as he put the helmet down.
"Kai, you can't let this news get you down." Skylor said gently to him. "We find our own paths."
"Skylor's right. Look at her." Nya said with a smile. "She could have inherited her father Chen's evil empire and rule the world. But instead, dedicated her life to spending her day bent over a hot stove providing low-cost quality noodles to the people of Ninjago City." She said as Skylor lowered Nya's chop-sticks down.
"Gee, when you put it like that…" Skylor started before she sighs and looks at the extra noodles. "Let me get some of those." She said as she pulled the bowl of noodles towards her.
"Oh, sorry…" Nya said sheepishly.
At the swamp, some of the Vermillion Warriors were escorting Wu to his holding cell while some of the Vermillion Warriors were on patrol and a zeppelin was flying by. Inside of Acronix and Krux's headquarters, Borg duck to avoid a swipe from Acronix's Time Blade. "Here. For the apparatus." He said to Borg.
"I'm not ready for that." Borg said to him. "You can't rush good design."
"Says the man who released three updates to the Borg pad in one year." Krux said with a grin. "Stop stalling!"
"Or your time may run out." Machia threatened them while holding up the Slow-Mo blade while giving the scientist a glare as Borg gave a nervous chuckle.
"Yes, Ma'am." Borg said nervously as he went back to work.
"That's better." Acronix said with a smirk as they all shared an evil laugh.
At the exit from the sewer tunnels, the rest of the Ninja, san for Kai and Nya, walked out and saw the swamp before their eyes. "That's a lot of eggs." Cole said nervously.
"And a lot of armor. Er. Ers?" Jay asked in confusion.
"Wu and Demir gotta be down there somewhere." Lloyd said to them.
"And Cyrus Borg." Zane added.
"One thing's for sure. We're gonna need the whole team." Lydie said seriously as she picked up her phone and started calling Nya.
Nya soon heard her phone buzzing as she picked it up and saw Lydiet's call. "It's Lydie." She said as she answered it. "Lydie? Sorry, we couldn't, um- Uh… get the scanners working, but…" She trailed off after hearing what she's saying. "You found it? Where?" She asked before she got her answer. "We'll be there right away."
"What is it?" Kai asked as his sister stood up.
"They found Acronix and Krux's base." Nya said with a smile.
"Let's roll!" Kai declared as he stood up.
"Guys, if you need any he-" Skylor tried to say before Nya spoke.
"To-go bags? Heh. No, thanks." Nya said to her. "Finding out about my parents killed my appetite." She said as she and Kai rushed out.
"Oh. I guess quality noodles is all I'm good for." Skylor said sadly with sigh as she ate some noodles before she smiled and hummed, seeing that she really is good with noodles.
"Hey," Skylor perked up and turned to see Kai standing at the door, "You coming or what?" He asked with a grin, waving his arm for her to follow.
Skylor saw this as she gave a smirk. "I see you get what I was gonna say." She said as she ate some more noodles and placed her bowl down as she stood up from the table.
"Hey, I'm not gonna leave you high and dry." Kai said with a smirk as Skylor rushed up to the sign that said open and put in the close sign as she followed Kai out the door.
Kai and Nya rushed up to their bikes with Skylor following behind as they hopped on with Skylor sitting behind Kai before Kai realized something. "Nya, something just occurred to me." He said to her,
"What?" Nya asked in confusion.
"If the others found Krux and Acronix." Kai started out, when Nya and Skylor realized what he meant.
"Then they found our father!" Nya realizes.
"Whoa! Now that is a turn around." Skylor said in surprise and a bit shock as the two siblings looked at each other at the details, that if they found Krux and Acronix's hideout, they would find where their father was all this time.