In the middle of the ocean where there are rocks, some seagulls were flying around while the Destiny's Bounty landed over the water while the Garma-Twins walked towards Harumi, who was looking around. "Is this… where we will be living?" She asked in confusion as she turned to the Garma-Twins.
"Just until we know you're safe, Rumi." Lloyd said to her.
"What about the Samurai X cave, the Temple of Airjitzu?" Harumi asked, reminding them of the Airjitzu Temple.
"It's too in the open. And last time that happened, a bunch of snakes sorta wreck it." Lydie said with a cringed look. "And the Samurai X cave isn't well equipped, especially since the new Samurai X been using it."
"The Sons of Garmadon will be looking for you. We'll need to keep moving." Lloyd finished with a hand on Harumi's shoulder.
"But, what could they want with me, they've already taken everything from me." Harumi said sadly.
"We don't know. Either that you are royalty or something. But don't worry, Harumi, we'll figure it out and we'll get justice for your parents." Lydie assured with a smile as she walked off. "Come on, we'll discuss on the bridge." She said as Lloyd turned to Harumi and offered his hand, which she smiled as she accepted it as they walked up to the bridge.
They climbed into the bridge where the others were waiting as Cole spoke. "So, Harumi, looks like we're gonna be… roomies for a while." He joked, trying to lighten the mood while the others didn't laugh.
"Not your best, Cole." Demir said with a brow.
"You all have been so gracious to take me in again since our palace was… taken away." Harumi said with a sad look. "And…"
"You're safe with us." Jay said with a smile.
"That assumption is not entirely justified, Jay." Zane commented as he rubbed his chin. "We know very little about the Sons of Garmadon's full capabilities."
"We know nothing about them. Period." Kai clarified.
"We did only learn about them recently." Rose said as Nya went to the console.
"We do know they're after the three Oni Masks." Nya said as she brought up the two masks the Sons of Garmadon have on the monitor. "Unfortunately, they already have two of them."
"And we saw that the Mask of Vengence can give someone with four arms and incredible swordsmanship," Rose recalled after seeing how Mr. E wore the mask, "So who knows what the other two are capable of."
"Pixal scanned everywhere for the third mask, but it came up empty." Zane informed them. "It's as if it… never existed."
"Then we need to focus on who's giving the orders." Lydie said seriously. "A group this organized must have a leader."
"No surprise. Because low level thugs are easy to be sloppy, but for the Sons of Garmadon, they're well thought and organized. And strategic." Morro said while rubbing his chin. "But who could be so well organized to lead these goons?"
"Maybe someone from our past?" Jay suggested as Harumi cringed as she saw a pair of blue underwear on the console.
"Uh, forgive me for interrupting, but is that… underwear?" Harumi asked as she picked up the underwear with a cringed look as Jay gave an embarrassing look as he quickly swiped them from her hands and hid them behind his back.
"We're usually more organized-" Jay started as he clears his throat while the others gave teasing look. "-but our leader got lost in a time-stream. They're Cole's."
"They're blue!" Cole exclaimed while giving Jay a look.
Kai gave a laugh. "You're lucky they're not yell-." He was about to joke before Morro slammed his fist on his head, shutting him up.
"You had to pull a Jay, didn't you?" Morro asked with a look.
"Heheh, you pulled a Ja-" Jay stopped as he realizes what Morro just said. "Hey!"
"Okay, okay." Lydie quickly said, breaking the argument. "Let's just move on. Nya?" She asked as Nya nodded and work on the monitor again of a Son of Garmadon Lloyd and Lydie caught that one night.
"What about the suspect captured at the heist in Borg Tower?" Nya suggested. "I can stay behind with Harumi if you wanna press him on who he works for?"
"The police have him in custody, but he has refused to talk." Pixal informed them as her voice spoke out through the Bounty. "He is set for release today."
"Then if Johnny Law can't get him to talk…" Kai started as he cracked his knuckles with a smirk. "...perhaps Johnny Ninja can?"
"Yeah, if these guys are tough as they say, maybe we need to be smart about this." Demir spoke up while giving a brow at Kai. "Because the last time we fought them, it didn't end well."
"And there are a lot more of those Sons of Garmadon than we first thought, we might need some help," Lydie said holding her chin, before turning to Cole and Kai, "Cole, Kai, can you see if Skylor and Seliel are free to help?"
"Well, we could use their help against them. We'll go see if they got time." Cole said as Kai nodded.
"Then the rest of us will go and interrogate a S.O.G." Lloyd said with a serious look.
"Rose and I will help get Harumi settled in," Nya said, holding Harumi's shoulder.
"And I'll search around the city and see if any of my pals on the streets have any info on the Sons of Garmadon." Demir said with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm sure they'll corporate."
"Great. Okay, team. Let's move out." Lydie ordered.
A bit later, Zane, Morro, Jay, and the Garma-Twins were back in Ninjago City as they walked up to a tea shop. "Uh, I thought we were in a hurry to get to the police." Jay said in confusion.
"A quick stop." Lydie said to him. "If the perp won't talk, maybe we can get something to loosen his lips." She said as they entered the tea shop.
"Mystake's Tea Shop." Morro said with a smile. "I wonder what magic tea she can brew up for us." He commented as they entered the shop and saw Mystake stocking some shelves.
"Is Mystake here?" Lloyd asked.
"Never heard of her!" Mystake said as she turned around with a look before she smiled when she realized it was the Ninja. "Ooh! Apologizes, young Lloyd Garmadon. I didn't recognize your voice. Oh, it's so good to see you again. It's been years."
"Hello, Mystake." Lydie said with a smile. "And yes, it has been a long time. And my brother sure has gotten a new voice to prove it." She joked as Lloyd gave a sigh.
"I heard." Mystake said with a giggle before she frowned. "I'm sorry to hear about Master Wu. He was a dear friend."
"Was?" Morro asked with a frown. "We haven't given up on him. We just have more urgent problems." He explained.
"We seek-" Zane tried to say before he was cut off.
"The Tea of Truth!" Mystake said with a creepy voice, which surprised and weirded out the others.
"She's good." Zane commented.
"But be forewarned… The truth can be… dangerous." Mystake said with a creepy smile as the Ninja leaned back a bit.
"She's also creepy." Jay said with a fearful look.
"Part of the course in a mystical tea shop, Jay." Morro said with a brow.
"I'll have a look in the back to see if I have any." Mystake said with a sweet smile as she was about to enter the back before she turned with a firm look. "But…don't…touch…any…thing!" She empisize before she gave a sweet smile and went to the back.
"Like I said… Cree-pee." Jay whispered to them.
"Eh, that's just how Mystake is." Morro said with a shrug. "I saw her at times when Wu and I went to the tea shop back before I left for my Realm Crystal quest and she's usually like this."
"That's comforting." Lloyd said as they saw Mystake come back with a jar of tea leaves before the Garma-Twins saw something in the back, seeing a horned warrior and a dragon between a tree symbol, which got their attention.
"Mystake, wait!" Lydie said quickly. "That painting…" She gestured to the back.
"Hm?" Mystake asked before she turned and saw the painting. "Ah, yes. The Oni and the Dragon. But neither of you are not ready for that tale."
"Please." Lloyd said to her. "We need to know."
"It is a long tale." Mystake said to them. "Do you two have the time?"
"We only had time for a quick stop." Zane said to them.
"Morro and Zane, go to the police with the Tea of Truth and find out who's giving the orders." Lydie instructed as she gave the tea leaves to Zane. "Jay, Lloyd and I will stay here and learn more." She said as Zane and Morro nodded as they walked off.
"Come, my childs." Mystake said as the Garma-Twins and Jay started walking to the back. "To know the tale, you must drink the tea." She said as they entered the back.
With Demir, he was in his casual clothes as he was walking down by the street with a hoody on as he looked around for any one he's familiar with while keeping a low profile to avoid the Sons of Garmadon from detecting him.
"Okay, the spot should be around the corner." Demir said as he walked towards an alleyway and leaned against the wall. "He should be here any minute." He said.
"More like seconds with how the city has been having these goons around." A voice spoke up as Demir took a stance as he saw a boy not much older than him, with a black jacket, red shirt and jeans walking towards him. "Relax, Demir. It's just me."
"Terry?" Demir asked in surprise as he gave a relieved look. "I see you made it. A bit late, don't you think?"
"Cut me some slack." Terry said with his arms crossed. "I've been trying to be careful ever since the Sons of Garmadon appeared. They are bad news by day or night, especially for what happened to the Royal Family and the palace. The whole city is on edge as it is."
"So I've heard." Demir nodded as he looked around. "Look, I can't stay long. And you are the best connection to the criminal underworld of Ninjago City. Do you know anything about the Sons of Garmadon and their goal?"
"Kind of hard not to know about them." Terry said with a frown as he looked around. "Listen, the Sons of Garmadon are way more organized then any gang I've met. They're like some kind of military cult that has gone rogue."
"Yeah, it was pretty obvious when they strategically destroyed the palace with blast zap and killed Harumi's parents." Demir said with a frown. "These guys are good, so good that even us Ninja are having a hard time keeping them at bay."
"Yeah." Terry said with a frown. "I don't have much on their endgame, but so far, these heists aren't random. They're organized, clearly someone with a much bigger brain is keeping these thugs in line."
"Do you at least know what they are planning to do with the Oni Masks?" Demir asked.
"I don't know much about these masks, but I do know if they are together, something bad is gonna happen." Terry said with a frown. "Right now, the Sons of Garmadon are still searching for the third mask, but so far, they come up empty. They still don't know where it is yet. Otherwise, we would've been seeing something bad already."
"Well, that's good to know. Which gives us the chance to stop them before they do." Demir said with a thoughtful look.
"That's great to hear." Terry said as he looked around. "Look, I gotta go. Being out in the open is already dangerous enough with the S.O.G behind every corner. I'll try and see if there's anything else about these thugs, but I can't promise anything."
"I understand, buddy." Demir said with a nod. "Good luck. And thanks." He said before Demir jumped from the side walls and into the roof as Terry gave a smile to his friend.
"Eh, from a common guy to a hero." Terry said with a smirk as he walked off from the alley and walked down the sidewalk while blending in with the rest of the crowd.
Kai rode on his old car from the Digital Overlord incident towards Mr. Chen's Noodle house as he stood up. "I hope Skylor can close shop for some time. We definitely need her help for this." He said as approached the restaurant, only to see the windows broken and the door open, with some smoke leaking out from one window. "Oh, no. Skylor!" He said as he rushed inside.
Kai looked around and saw the noodle house was a complete wreck while some flames were around the area as he looked around frantically. "Skylor?! Skylor?! Where are you?!" He called out to his girlfriend as he moved some debris in hopes he would find a sight or clue of her, but there was nothing. "H-How did this happen?! Who would do this?!"
Kai then saw painted one of the walls the black face of Lord Garmadon. "No." He muttered as he looked at face, seeing that this was the Sons of Garmadon logo as he feared that they had taken Skylor as he gave a growl as he gave a yell in rage as some flames lit up more in the wrecked noodle house.
Cole using his Rock Roader car as he drove towards Seliel's village, the Village of Nom. "It's been a year since I've seen Seliel in person. With searching for Master Wu and all, but we do keep in contact while searching." He said to himself. "Heh, I bet she would be thrilled to see me." He laughed.
But then his smile disappeared as he saw smoke up ahead as he realized where that smoke was coming from. "Oh no." He muttered as he drove faster as his Rock Roader burned rubber down the road before he stopped at the village's entrance and ran up and saw some of the buildings were either wrecked or burned while the people are groaning while some are helping the injured as Cole walked into the village while looking shock and dread at what he saw.
"W-What happened here?" Cole stutters in complete shock at what he's seeing while walking through the village before he sees the mayor, Seliel's father, talking to some of the Workmen, "Mr. Mayor?" He called as the Mayor turned to him.
"Cole! Thank the stars you're here!" The Mayor said in relief.
"What happened here?" Cole asked him.
"Oh, it was terrible. A group of thugs suddenly came into our village, asking for some encryptions or a description for something they wanted." The Mayor said with a frown. "When I didn't cooperate, they went on a rampage, setting fire to buildings, attacking citizens and looting everything. They managed to leave with much of our provisions and worse," He gave a worried look, "They took what was most precious to me."
Cole immediately knew what or rather who the Mayor was talking about. "Seliel." He muttered as he gave a serious look. "Don't worry, Mr. Mayor, me and the others will do whatever we can to stop them and save Seliel."
"Oh, I hope so, Cole." The Mayor said in worry. "I know my daughter can take care of herself, but I do worry sometimes."
"I'll bring her home, I promise," Cole vowed as he rushed back to his car and drove back to the city.
At the police station, two officers were dragging a cuffed up man to the station. "I'm innocent!" The man yelled out as he struggled to break free.
"Tell it to the judge." The officer said to him.
"I am the judge!" The man exclaimed as they walked past Morro and Zane, which Zane was making tea from a machine.
"This cup contains the Tea of Truth, this other one is for you." Zane said as he gave Morro the two cups.
"So we just got to get him to drink it and he'll spill his guts," Morro said with a smirk. "And nothing like good old-fashioned detective work to get the job done." He said as the cuffed man broke free.
"Out of my way, coppers!" The man yelled out as he rushed off.
"Stop him!" The officer yelled as the man rushed past Morro.
"W-Whoa!" Morro called as he kept a tight hold on the cups right before Zane used his powers to freeze the floor, causing the cuffed man to fall to the ground as he hit the door.
"That didn't go the way I pictured." The man said dully as the officers glared down at him as Morro and Cole walked to the interrogation room.
"Okay, that was unexpected." Morro said with a frown. "Nearly made me drop the cups."
"Are you ready?" Zane asked as he brought his hand to the doorknob.
"I'm ready, Zane." Morro said as he held his cup that is not the Truth Tea back a bit. "Though next time, try not to make the cups look alike. Because if I get either one mixed up, this plan would've been bad."
"Mmm, excellent point." Zane nodded in understanding. "I'll remember that next time." He said before the two ninjas entered the room.
"Who turned off the heat?" the S.O.G. goon questioned after feeling the freeze before he saw the two Ninja. "Ninja. Hmph. What do you two want?"
"Luke Cunningham." Zane started off as Morro closed the door.
"Otherwise known as the Man in the White Sons of Garmadon Mask." Morro said with a look as Luke gave a glare.
"We would like some information regarding who you work for, Luke." Zane said with a firm look.
"Well, I'd like a pepperoni pizza and some chocolate ice cream, but it ain't gonna happen." Luke said with a look.
"How'd you like a knuckle sandwich with some punch instead?" Morro suggested.
"Nice try. You can beat me up all you want. Cause I ain't talking." Luke said with a look.
Morro sighed as he sat down and placed the two cups of tea down, which he pushed the tea that has the tea of truth forward. "Then how about a cup of tea? To warm things up." He said.
"I ain't thirsty." Luke said with a look as Morro drank his tea.
"Really? Because it really warms me up. Especially being a ghost before I got my body back." Morro said with a smirk. "Sometimes a cup of hot tea just hits the spot. Master Wu told me that, and trust me, it really does." He said as he pushed Luke's cup forward.
"Like I said, I ain't talking." Luke said again with a look.
"Come on, man. Drink up." Morro said with a firm look.
"No." Luke denied.
"Dude, just drink the tea," Morro suggested before he gave a smirk. "Unless, you want Zane to make things even colder here."
Zane got the idea as he then used his powers to freeze the room a bit, making the temperature drop around the room as Luke began to shiver while trying to keep a straight face. "I-I-I ain't b-b-b-breaking." He stuttered.
Morro taunted him as he drank some more tea. "You sure you don't want any tea? It keeps you warm on the inside in a cold area." He mocked as he drank some more tea.
Luke shivered some more as he eyed his cup while Zane kept dropping the temperature as he caved in. "Alright! Alright! I'll drink the tea if it makes you happy! Just chill with the deep freeze!" He exclaimed as he took the cup and started drinking it while Zane stopped using his powers as Luke tasted the tea a bit. "Mmm, you're right. It does warm you up. And tasty too."
"So how many commanders are in the Sons of Garmadon?" Morro suddenly asked.
"Three of 'em," Luka answered before realizing what he did. "W-What?! I shouldn't have said that."
"How many of you Sons of Garmadon are there?" Morro asked again with a smirk.
"150." Luke said as he covered his mouth. "W-Why can't I stop saying things?!"
"Hehe, you just drank the Tea of Truth, buddy." Morro said with a smirk. "With the tea of truth in you, you can't lie or resist saying the truth. So I'm gonna ask the most important question. Who are you working for? Who is leading the Sons of Garmadon?"
"I don't know." Luke said with a dull look, which surprised the two Ninja.
"Wait, is the tea even working?" Morro asked Zane.
"It still is. It won't wear off for another hour." Zane said to him.
"Are you sure you don't know who your leader is?" Morro questioned.
"I'm sorry, man. But I'm a rookie at this." Luke said with a shrug. "I mean, the commanders know who their boss is, but I barely know a thing of the boss. I wasn't informed yet."
"Dang it!" Morro growled. "Well that was a bust. I mean, unless you know where you and your friends hang out, we're at a dead end."
"Well, the gang and I hang out at Laughy's during the night when we're not doing our crime spree." Luke said, which made him and the Ninjas surprised by this. "Oh crud." He muttered.
"Laughy's?" Zane asked in surprise. "You mean the Karaoke Club on the South Side?"
"Where else?" Luke asked with a shrug. "Oh, dang."
"Ha, well, at least something came out from this." Morro said with a smirk as he stood up from the chair. "Come on, Zane. Let's go and check on Laughy's." He said as Zane nodded as the two Ninja walked off.
At Mystake's Tea Shop, the Garma-Twins and Jay were finishing up their tea Mystake gave them as she gave them a smile. "Aah! Thank you for the tea. You were right, it really calms my nerves." Jay said to Mystake with a smile. "I feel so-" He slurps some more tea. "-warm and fuzzy."
"Good. Then the Tea of Enlightenment is working." Mystake said as she held up a jar of tea leaves. "To help you see the tale, the original tale, the tale of the Oni and the Dragon." She said as she circled the three as they gave surprised looks.
"You lied?" Jay asked. "Mystake, why would you do that? I thought we were friends."
"Don't argue, Jay." Lydie said with a brow. "Mystake, thank you for the tea, but why did you give us it?"
"What are we supposed to see?" Lloyd asked.
"See… the beginning." Mystake said with a spooky voice before she blew some steam from her teapot, which the three ninja focused on the picture as it started moving as dragons were flying around. "Long before time had a name, there was the realm of the Oni and Dragon." Then the dragon and a figure with horns appeared facing each other as the Ninja heard growling sounds.
"One of the sixteen realms?" Lydie asked in surprise.
"Not one of. The first." Mystake corrected as she continued the tale. "The Dragon had the power to create. The Oni had the power to destroy. Their war was never ending…" She said as the Oni and Dragon then started fighting each other. "But a child arrived, born of both worlds." A figure of a boy appeared between the two entities as a yin yang symbol appeared behind him. "A child understood the power of both. Without one, you could not have the other. But when the Oni and the Dragon fought over which side the child should choose… the child abandoned their world to start a new one, called… Ninjago." She stated as the three looked in surprise as the child vanished before reappearing with the four Golden Weapons and did Spinjitzu as he created another yin yang symbol, which was actually Ninjago.
"Are you telling us that the child born from both worlds…" Lloyd started off.
"Is the First Spinjitzu Master? Our grandfather?" Lydie finished in shock.
"Heh, hey! You're both related!" Jay said with a smile before he gasped in realization. "That means you're both part Oni and Dragon too!"
"Like I said. Truth can be dangerous." Mystake said naturally.
"Wait, Mystake, you said that the Oni and Dragon were sworn enemies, right?" Lydie asked, having a thought in her head.
"That is correct, at first sight of the other, the Oni and Dragon will attack without hesitation," Mystake told her.
Lydie then remembered the times when the Ninja's original dragons tried to kill her the moment they saw her for no reason…at least until now. "...That explains so much," She said with a disturbed look before slowly sipping more tea.
"You learn that first hand of how dragons attacked you, didn't ya?" Mystake asked with an amusing smile.
"Yes. First adventure too." Lydie said as she sipped more tea.
"Continue, Mystake." Lloyd said as Mystake nodded as she continued the tale.
"After the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago, he fathered two sons of his own." She said as figures of Wu and Garmadon appeared beside him. "He thought he could escape the war, he saw the evil of the Oni was waiting to be unleashed in one of his sons… Lord Garmadon." Mystake said as Garmadon's four arms appeared as they heard his evil laughter before Wu's projection started moving. "It was up to Master Wu to control his brother's undying thirst to destroy." She said as six figures appeared around Wu in multicolor. "And with some help-"
"Ey! Haha! That's us!" Jay cheered while pointing at the projection of themselves as the others gave him a look for interrupting.
"Have some more tea." Mystake said to Jay before she continued off as Garmadon then faced his son and daughter. "Lord Garmadon was destroyed by the most powerful force of all… the love of his own children." She finished as the picture returned to it's original state while the three Ninja turned to Mystake. "But in his absence, a void was created. And in that void, a new darkness has arisen…"
"The Sons of Garmadon." Lydie clarified.
"The three Oni Masks are relics from the first realm." Mystake continued as she started explaining of the Oni Mask. "And they wield tremendous power… The power to deceive. The Power of vengeance. The power to hate." She lists off with an ominous tone as the three ninja looked at each other in concern.
"What happens when they're united?" Lydie asked.
"You cannot let that happen." Mystake said in dread.
"Tell us, please." Lloyd pleaded.
"What happens when the three masks are united?" Lydie pleaded as Mystake looked down with a sigh.
"Resurrection. They will have the power to bring your father, Lord Garmadon, back from the Dead!" Mystake revealed to the Garma-Twins, which shocked the three Ninja while Lydie dropped her cup in horrified shock. "But it won't be the man you recognize! There will be no love left in him!" She said grimly as Jay placed comforting hands on the Garma-Twins after hearing that as they looked at each other in dread.
Back on the Bounty, Harumi was in the barracks as she set up her makeshift bed of the things she manage to save when the palace was destroyed as she looked at the picture of her birth parents when she was a kid as she carrass it with a smile before she flipped the picture to show her Royal Family after they adopted her as she gave a sad look, missing them dearly before she gives it a kiss and she placed the two pictures on the board where the Ninjas put their family pictures on.
Harumi then turned and saw the picture of Lloyd and Lydie with their parents, Garmadon and Mistako, and their Uncle, Master Wu, next to the board while in a frame. She took the picture in her hands as she saw how happy the Garmadon Family were together.
"You know, I still find it surreal that man used to be our greatest enemy." Nya said with a smile as she and Rose entered the room.
"This is Lloyd and Lydie's father?" Rose asked as she never met Garmadon in person, but she and Demir heard of him as she saw the picture of the Garmadon Family together.
"When I met Garmadon, he was a good man. I almost thought of him as a third father." Harumi said with a smile before she looked down in sadness. "I hope he's watching over my parents."
"I'm sure he is." Nya assured as she placed a hand on Harmui's shoulder. "Sure, he made some mistakes, but… he's made up for them." She said as Harumi gave a smile while Rose looked at Garmadon in the picture.
"Demir and I have only heard stories of him and details you Ninja told us when we joined." Rose said with a frown. "My parents told me that there was an anger inside Garmadon he couldn't control. How did he change?"
"Lydie once said holding onto anger is like trying to throw a hot rock," Harumi said with a slight frown, "Only you get burned. Lloyd and Lydie, helped their father let go of that hate, just like they helped me," She said with a smile, "Whatever Garmadon did is in the past and his legacy is as a hero."
"Such wise words." Rose said with a smile.
"Yeah. And all of that is behind us now." Nya said with a smile.
"Or so we thought." Lydie spoke up as the girls turned and saw the Garma-Twins entering the room.
"Lloyd, Lydie. You're back." Harumi said with a smile.
"Where are others?" Lloyd asked in worry.
"Because we need to see everyone." Lydie said seriously.
"Morro and Zane are following a lead and the boys should be back soon." Nya answered. "Why? Is everything okay?" She asked as she and the two girls saw the Garma-Twins' grim expression.
Lloyd and Lydie looked at each other with grim expressions before Lydie spoke. "The Sons of Garmadon wanted to bring back our father from the dead." She muttered.
"And they're gonna bring him back as the Dark Lord, back to his evil self, with no love in him at all." Lloyd muttered as all three girls gasped in shock at what they had learned.
"No." Harumi whispered in shock.
"That's… That's terrible." Rose said with a hand over her mouth.
"You think that's bad?" Cole's voice spoke up as the group turned and saw him, Demir, and Kai walking in with worried expressions. "That's not the only bad news we learned today."
"Turns out, the Sons of Garmadon have been hitting in and out of Ninjago City." Demir said with a frown. "They aren't just some low-level gangster, their entire cult."
"And that's not the worst of it," Kai said in worry, "They took Skylor."
"And Seliel." Cole added in concern.
The others gasped in concern, "Okay this officially got personal," Lydie said with a firm look.
"Oh, Kai." Nya said walking up to her brother, "I'm sorry," she said, knowing he was worried about Skylor.
"Skylor and Seliel are part of our family too, and the Sons of Garmadon just messed with it," Lloyd said seriously, "We better check in with Zane and Morro and see if they found anything."
"Is there anything else you guys found out?" Cole asked as the Garma-Twins looked at each other with sad and grim looks.
"Well, we found out what they wanted the three Oni masks for." Lloyd said sadly.
"But you guys aren't gonna like it." Lydie said, knowing that they are gonna be in for a shock when they hear this.
It was night time in Ninjago City while the Destiny's Bounty was over the city as a bunch of the Sons of Garmadon were at the Karaoke Club, chatting or having drinks as Ultra Violet and the mysterious man that the Garma-Twins fought came in as the Sons of Garmadon moved aside for them to go through while Zane was reading a newspaper behind a dumpster while seeing the Sons of Garmadon enter the bar.
"Our informant's intel has paid off." Zane said to Morro, who was hiding in the dumpster. "Two high ranking Sons of Garmadon just arrived. The one they call Ultra Violet, and the mysterious man with the swords."
"Good. Then we're one step closer in finding out who's in charge." Morro said as he got out of the dumpster with a disguise on as he was wearing punk clothing with a hat that is on backwards as Zane looked at him in surprise. "It's me, Zane. Morro. Or should I say my alias… Storm Dangerbuff." He said with a smirk while Zane kept giving a weirded look. "Hey, if we're gonna infiltrate their gang and gain their trust, they can't know who we're Ninja. Besides, I've experienced a bar before during my questionable years during my search for the Spinjitzu Master's Tomb, so try and stick close and follow my lead alright."
"If you say so." Zane said with a shrug.
"And also, please disguise yourself. You have a holo-disguise feature, remember?" Morro questioned with a look. "Use it to be like the Sons of Garmadon. And don't forget you have to sell it."
"Right." Zane said as he turned into his human form but with a Sons of Garmadon uniform. "Well?"
"Like a gangster ready to rumble." Morro said with a nod. "But you still need a cover. Something tough. Something that says, 'I'm bad'." He said to him,
"In my estimation, Storm Dangerbuff is pretty bad." Zane said as Morro groaned in annoyance.
"Seriously?" Morro questioned with a look before he thought for a moment. "Fine. You're… Snake Jaguar."
"Snake Jaguar. Hmm…" Zane hummed before he gave a smile. "You were always much better at this than I was."
"You ready, Snake Jaguar?" Morro asked with a smirk as he walked towards the bar.
"I am, Storm Dangerbuff." Zane said as the two Ninja walked into the bar while music was playing as some S.O.G. are playing pool table or drinking while chatting to each other while two men are singing karaoke while some of the S.O.G. groaned as they covered their ears from the horrible music.
"Make them stop!" One of them yelled while the two Karaoke men kept singing.
"Barkeep!" A S.O.G. goon quickly grabbed the barkeeper, which happens to be Dareth. "Another boba!" He ordered as he tossed Dareth down.
"Yes, Sir! Coming up, right away." Dareth said frantically as he stood up. "Please don't break anything!" He pleaded as he went to grab the drinks while Morro and Zane came in and looked at him in surprise.
"Dareth?" Zane asked in surprise at seeing one of their old friends. "What are you doing here?"
Dareth then turned to them. "I'm sorry, do I know you two?" He asked in surprise.
"Dareth, it's us." Morro whispered while showing his face a bit, which Dareth perked up.
"Morro? Zane? Is that you two under there?" Dareth asked with a smile. "You've come to visit me! You guys gotta help me. I bought this stink hole, hoping to hold onto the glory days when I was fighting side-by-side with you guys." He said as he held up the picture of the Ninja with himself taped into it.
"Side by side… Really?" Morro questioned with a brow.
"Only now the Sons of Garmadon have moved in and made my place their dive." Dareth said to them. "I can't get them to leave! You gotta help me!"
"We can't. Not yet anyway." Morro whispered to him. "We need to keep our cover to get close to those two." He said while gesturing to the mystery man and Ultra Violet, who are getting annoyed by the karaoke singers as Ultra Violet gave a whistle and gestured the S.O.G. to get rid of them. Which they gladly did as they tossed the two singers out the window as the Sons of Garmadon all cheered in relief.
"You mean Mr. E and Ultra Violet?" Dareth asked while gesturing to the two commanders.
"Mr. E?" Both Zane and Morro asked in surprised by hearing the mystery man's real name.
"Nobody talks to those two because he doesn't talk and she's off her rocker." Dareth said while gesturing to the two commanders.
"If we can't talk to them, how are we supposed to gain their trust-?" Morro tried to ask before they heard growling as they turned.
"I said, where's my boba?!" The S.O.G. goon from earlier exclaimed as he slammed his fist down, which startled Dareth as he gave two drinks to the two disguise ninjas.
"Sorry, can't help. Gotta go." Dareth said as he quickly went off to give the goon a drink.
"Alright, Snake Jaguar, fire up those processors and tell me how we do this." Morro said to Zane as he held his drink.
"I've already run countless simulations, and out of the 1,542 ways this could go, there's only one." Zane said as he lifted a finger. "But it's complicated. And dangerous."
"Then it's a good thing my last name is Dangerbuff. And I've faced more dangers before." Morro commented with a smirk. "Lay it on me." He said as he started sipping his drink.
"You have to sing," Zane said carefully.
Morro's eyes widened in shock before he gave a spit take from his drink. "W-What?! I don't sing!" He said to Zane in disbelief. "Not even Lydie can get me to sing! There has to be another way."
"You're the first pupil Master Wu taught you. You were trained in every ninjutsu and journeyed around Ninjago for the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master." Zane stated. "You have to trust me. What would Wu do?" He asked.
Morro gave a thoughtful look before he gave a determined expression as he drank the rest of his drink and slammed the cup down as he tilted his hat and walked towards the karaoke stand while Zane smiled and walked off a bit as Morro grabbed the microphone, which he adjusted it it a bit as Ultra Violet and Mr. E looked down at him while the rest of the Sons of Garmadon turned to him while Zane stood ready.
Morro looked around before he gave a serious look. "I'm Stormy Dangerbuff… and here's something mean to sing." He then took out a money coin and tossed it at the music box, which hit it and fell to the floor. "Song number 159, pronto!" He said as Zane picked up the coin and started playing a happy tune, which made Morro cringed as he looked at the S.O.G. looking at him weirdly. "What? No, no, no! No! Not this! I wanted 159: Cream and Death." He said as he glared at Zane, who gave a sheepish shrug for his mistake while Ultra Violet gave him a suspicious look.
Morro sighed as he decided to roll with it as he began to sing. "Shine little glow-worm. Glimmer glimmer. Hey there don't get dimmer dimmer." He sang while Ultra Violet covered her ears while Mr. E just watched while the S.O.G. began to laugh at Morro in amusement. "Glow little glow-worm. Glow and glimmer. Swim through the sea of night. Little swimmer. Shine! Glow little glow worm. Glimmer glimmer." Morro sang while Zane watched in amusement.
On the Bounty, the Ninja were watching Morro sing in surprise and amusement while feeling a bit disturbed. "Swim through the sea of night. Little swimmer." Morro sighed while snapping his fingers as he gave an irritated sigh.
"What is he doing?" Kai asked in amusement.
"I don't know, but please tell me if any of you are recording this." Lydie said, trying to hold her laughter. "Because this is such blackmail material."
"Zane informed me he has a plan to gain the Sons of Garmadon's trust." Pixal spoke up to them and sounded close to laughing as well, while Morro did a little dance and kept singing. "But for it to work… we must trust him."
"Uh… no one answered my question…" Lydie spoke up, still trying to keep her laughter in at seeing her boyfriend's embarrassment.
"Yes, Captain, yes, I am recording it." Nya said with a smirk. "And I'm making copies. Lots and lots of copies."
"Light up you little o' bug of lightning. When you gotta glow, you glimmer-glimmer." Morro kept singing.
After a bit of singing, the Sons of Garmadon were getting bored. "Boo!" One of them exclaimed.
"How long is this song?" Morro questioned Zane with a brow since the song was still going before the Sons of Garmadon started tossing their drinks at Morro, while he tried to avoid them. "Time to bust a wind…" He said as he moved the microphone away and free danced around before he tripped over from the spilled drink and lost his hat, which revealed who he was as he stood up and gave a sheepish look.
"Hey! He's one of those Ninja!" One of the Sons of Garmadon exclaimed.
"Grab him!" Ultra Violet ordered as the Sons of Garmadon charged at Morro, who used the microphone as a weapon to fight them off.
"Should've let Zane do the singing." Morro muttered as he raised his hand to use his powers, but a Son of Garmadon grabbed his arm as he wrestled to break free as he kept the Sons of Garmadon back. "A little help here, Zane! Where are you?!" He called out before he turned and saw Zane holding his arm, but before he could react, he was hit by a bench and was knocked down.
"Find this Zane and grab him too!" Zane called out, acting like one of them as Ultra Violet and Mr. E dragged Morro away while Zane gave a guilty look.
On the bounty, the others were gobsmacked as they watched Morro get dragged away, "What the what?!" Demir exclaimed.
"Zane just attacked Morro!" Jay shouted in shock.
"B-But, why?" Nya said in confusion.
"Zane has blocked all communication." Pixal said to them, which shocked them even more. "We must trust him," She said, though her tone didn't have much confidence.
"This is our only lead." Lydie said with a serious look. "We may never get a second chance."
"Zane wanted us to trust him." Lloyd said to them.
"Zane is letting this happen!" Cole exclaimed exasperation. "We already lost Skylor and Seliel, we can't lose another!"
"I'm not waiting for the coach to put me in." Kai said with a serious look. "I'm going." He said as he walked out.
"Same. I'm going as well." Lydie said with a glare as she walked off next. "No one messes with my boyfriend! Pixal, watch over Harumi!"
"Um, apologies, Harumi," Pixal said sheepishly.
"I can handle myself. I don't need a babysitter." Harumi said with a determined look.
"I know how that feels." Nya said as she got in front of Harumi. "But Lydie's right. Our first order is to protect you. You can handle yourself, but against the Sons of Garmadon, that's a different story." She said as she rushed down while Harumi gave a sigh.
"Great, stuck on the sidelines like some damsel in distress." Harumi grumbled before she noticed Lloyd old green Gi's on a crate, "Huh," She said with a thoughtful smile, having an idea.
The Bounty flew over the bar as the Ninja each grabbed a rope and stood on the ledge. "Ready, Ninja?" Lydie asked as they nodded. "Go!" She called out as they jumped over, using the ropes to land safely as they started parkouring their way to the bar.
Down on the bar, a S.O.G. was drinking before he gasped and dropped his drink when he saw the Ninja coming down. "The Ninja's got backup! Get the bosses out of here!" He called out as Ultra Violet and Mr. E came out, U.V. carrying Morro while some of the goons got onto their bikes.
"We gotta split!" Ultra Violet said to Mr. E, who nodded as they rushed to their rides as Zane turned to Dareth as he gave Dareth a nod and rushed off.
"Go get 'em." Dareth said quietly to Zane, knowing what Zane was doing as the Sons of Garmadon revved up their bikes just as the Ninja jumped down to the bar as Ultra Violet took off with Morro while some of the other Ninja knocked down some goons while Mr. E revved up his bike.
Not wanting to let Mr. E escape, Jay absorbs some electricity from the electric sign and shoots it at Mr E, shorting out his bike as he was left in the middle of the road as he quickly ran on foot while the Ninja chased after him.
"Don't let him get away!" Lydie shouted out as they gave chase.
Mr. E kept running as he took out the Mask of Vengeance and stopped in an alley as he put it on and gain the four arms as the Ninja stopped as he saw him jumped over the wall and they chased after him as they ran up on the roofs, jumping from car to car, and using any obstacles he could use to slow the Ninja down.
Mr. E then ran up to an deadend as he saw the laundry lines connected to the buildings as he then jumped from one line to the next as the Ninja looked up and saw him. "Aw, I always hated doing laundry." Jay complained.
"Let's get bouncing!" Demir told they as they started jumping up the clotheslines.
Mr. E then saw them coming as Jay got onto the line he was on and charged at him, but Mr. E jumped away, causing Jay to lose his balance and fell before Nya caught him as Kai grabbed a vase and hit Mr. E with it, causing him to flip before he landed perfectly and he drew his swords as Lloyd and Lydie jumped towards him as he swung his sword at them.
Nya and Rose jumped up towards the other end of the line as Mr. E saw this as an advantage as he cut the line, causing the four ninja to fall with screams as they held onto a line as Mr. E bounced on one and jumped from one line to the next. "We can't let him escape!" Cole called out as the Ninja jumped after him to follow Mr. E, who threw his swords at them as it cut Cole, Demir, Kai, and Jay's lines as the boys screamed and got tangled up as Mr. E cut some clothes loose, dropping them on Rose and Nya, causing them to fall down with screams before the Garma-Twins caught them.
"Gotcha!" Lloyd said to them as Lloyd grabbed Nya while Lydie grabbed Rose.
"And we got you." Nya said as they let go of the Garma-Twins, which launched them up into the air with screams as Rose and Nya landed safely on a line.
"Who is this guy?!" Rose exclaimed in frustration as Nya patted her back to calm her down.
"That's what we like to know too, sista." Nya said in agreement.
Mr. E climbed up the roof before he turned and saw the Garma-Twins landed on the roof with their weapons ready, which Mr. E did the same before the three charged at each other and clashed weapons, which they blocked or avoided each srikes before Mr. E kicked them to another roof, which they kept clashing blades skillfully.
"You're not the first four armed freaks we've dealt with!" Lydie said to Mr. E before she and Lloyd got their weapons along with Mr. E's to a standstill before Mr. E swung their weapons away, making the Garma-Twins charge up their powers and he got hit by it, making him go flying and his mask coming off as he held onto the edge and grabbed hold of the mask so it wouldn't fall.
The Garma-Twins ran towards Mr. E, but then four shurikens were struck at them, making the two get pinned to the wall as Zane was on another roof. "Hurry!" Zane called out as he jumped towards Mr. E. "There's no time!" He said as he offered his hand to Mr. E, which he gradually accepted as Zane helped him up and the two rushed off.
"No!" Both Lloyd and Lydie yelled out as the others jumped onto the roof.
"He's getting away!" Demir shouted as Nya and Jay got the Garma-Twins free, but before they could follow, Lydie looked at the shurikens, seeing the details as she realized something.
"Wait!" Lydie shouted, which made the others stop and turn to her as she lowered the mouth part of her mask. "That was Zane's plan all along… He's just gained their trust." She realizes as she gestured to the shurikens, which made the others realizes as well.
On the road, the Sons of Garmadon are driving on the highway at high speed, with Ultra Violet having the tied up Morro on her bike as she turn to Mr. E, who has Zane riding in his ride. "You're bringing him to The Big Man?" Ultra Violet questioned as Mr. E gave a nod as they drove off into the city at night, not realizing they were bringing Zane along.
Back on the Bounty, the Ninja regrouped after finding out Zane's true intention. "I can't believe Zane thought that plan through." Cole said in surprise. "Never thought he would go with that plan."
"I can't believe it involved Morro making a fool out of himself." Jay said with a laugh.
"Well he could've let us off with a warning first," Kai said with a look.
"I think if he did, that would've blown his cover, Kai." Nya said with a dull look.
"Sounds right." Demir said with his arms crossed. "Because knowing Zane, he has to make it look good."
"Still this gives us an advantage," Lydie told them, "If Zane can infiltrate the S.O.G, he might be able to find the Leader, where the third Mask is and rescue Skylor, Seliel and Morro."
"Which will make things easy for us." Rose said with a smile. "I do hope he could keep his cover well."
"Yeah, but Zane is good with infiltrations." Lloyd assured them. "Let's give him a chance and wait and see how this goes." He said as he then looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen Harumi?"
"I believe she is below deck, Lloyd." Pixal informed.
"I better go check on her. She might not be happy about being on the sidelines again." Lloyd said with a concern frown as he walked down the stairs below deck.
"He got a point. Harumi hated being on the sidelines." Lydie said in agreement.
"Ain't that the truth." Cole said with a chuckle.
Lloyd was walking down the hallway to find Harumi. "Harumi? You down here?" Lloyd asked as he searched for any sign of Harumi. "Harumi, are you down here? Because if you're mad that you were stuck in the sidelines again, I'm sorry on behalf of my sister and the others." He called out to her as he saw the barrak's door open.
"Hiyah! Ha! Monkey strike!" Lloyd heard Harumi call out from the barrack, which made Lloyd raise a brow. "Tiger claw!" She yelled out as Lloyd walked towards the door and peek through it and saw something that made his eyes widened in surprise.
What Lloyd was seeing was Harumi wearing one of his old green gis as she was looking at herself in the mirror as she did a flip and threw punches. "Dragon punch!" She called out while doing an air kick. "Yeah! Eat it, evil goon! You're gonna regret taking everything from me! So says I: The Jade Ninja!" She declared doing more jabs.
Lloyd then showed himself from the door as he gave a slight chuckle and clapped his hands. "Very nice, your highness," He said, which made Harumi yelp as she turned and saw Lloyd at the doorway. "Though I think you need work on your footing,"
"L-Lloyd!" Harumi said as she gave an embarrassed look as she took off her mask and rubbed her head. "Um, I mean, uh, h-how long have you been standing there?" She asked with her cheeks bright pink.
"Long enough to know you're trying to be a ninja," Lloyd said in amusement. "Didn't know you were into cosplay."
"Well, I figured that since I had the Bounty to myself I had to find something to do, and then I found your old suit and couldn't help myself," Harumi explained while tapping her fingers together, "Are you mad?" She asked in concern.
"Actually, no." Lloyd said as he shook his head. "I mean, I can understand you being cooped up in here isn't very helpful when we're only trying to protect you."
"I've survived living statues, ancient evil spirits, snake-men, ghosts from the past and a giant world-ending serpent. A few homewrecking bikers don't scare me." Harumi stated turning away with her arms crossed.
"I'm not saying you're scared. But after hearing that they've captured Skylor and Seliel, taken over Dareth's bar, and killed your parents, I'm concerned that they know us more than we think." Lloyd said as he walked up and placed a hand on Harumi's shoulder. "I know you're trying to help, but after what happened to us today, it could've been worse and who knows what they would've done to you." He added with a frown. "If something happened to you, I would never forgive myself."
Harumi frowned, knowing what he was worried about, "Lloyd, this isn't like the Corridor of Elders," She said with a sympathetic look as she turned to Lloyd. "I know you've already lost so much in your life but I promise, I'm not going anywhere."
"I trust you," Lloyd said with a smile.
Harumi smiled back before a thought came to her, "What was it like? Growing up with Lord Garmadon as a father?" She asked her best friend.
Lloyd was taken by surprise by this question. He was silent for a moment, "When I was a kid, I idolized him. Heck, I wanted to be him." He said, glancing away, "But as I got older I soon realized I didn't know the first thing about him, how could I? My father was long gone before Lord Garmadon came to be, and I think beneath either of them is just pain. Pain he refuses to share with anyone." He said as Harumi listened carefully, "He never had a choice to be a better man before the snake bit him. Which made him go down a dark path of evil that it took some time to corrupt, but once it did, my father lost the life he had and even when he got it back it was taken again." He said sadly before looking at Harumi.
"So what was it like?" Lloyd said, looking into her eyes, seeing his reflection in them, "...Lonely."
Harumi gave Lloyd a sympathetic look asking what his life was as she gave him a comforting hug. "I'm sorry." She said with a guilty look. "It must've been hard for you."
"Yeah, feels like every part of my life is defined by him for better or worse," Lloyd said, closing his eyes, "Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to step out from his shadow."
"But you have." Harumi said with a comforting smile. "You have grown out from a little boy to being one of the greatest and most powerful ninjas in all of Ninjago along with your sister. You have accomplished something that your father is proud of, and that is becoming a better man. He would want you to keep going, Lloyd, no matter how hard the obstacles come in your way. He doesn't want you to become him, don't do what your father would do, do what you would do, Lloyd."
Lloyd thought for a moment as he let Harumi's words suck into him as he gave a smile. "My father said the same thing before. When did you become wise, Rumi?" He teased with a smirk.
"I had a good teacher," Harumi said with a smirk as she gave a giggle. "But still, don't let that get you down. I know your father is proud now. I am proud." She said as she gave Lloyd a quick peck on the cheeks, which surprised him a bit. "And uh, don't tell the others I wore one of your suits. I will never hear the end of it."
Lloyd snapped out of his stunt face before he gave a sheepish smile. "Uh, y-yeah. Don't worry, it will be our secret." He assured her. "Anyway, you might wanna change because we found out Zane's true plan and you might wanna hear it from everyone."
"Okay, I'll be up in a few." Harumi nodded as Lloyd nodded as he walked off out of the barracks while Harumi gave a fond smile. "He's cute when he's stiff." She commented with a giggle as she began to change into her casual clothes while knowing that it was a little embarrassing of her, but she found it enjoyable to hang with Lloyd.