Codename: Arcturus
Deep beneath the ocean where the MechDragon had fallen, a few Nindroids and Pythor use underwater jets to swim towards it.
Pythor turned to the Nindroids. "Get down there," The Nindroids then swim closer to the down MechDragon before attaching it to air balloons. Once they were attached, each of them pressed up on air tanks to inflate the balloons and raise the downed mechanism to the surface.
Once it had resurfaced, as Pythor resurfaced. He tapped the window of the mechanism, they saw a claw tap on the glass, and knew who it belonged to.
Meanwhile, the Ninja are inside the Temple of Light as they were in the same places they were when they had to gain powers to fight back against the Stone Army.
And now the place where Lloyd gives them back.
"Melissa and I can't do this alone anymore." Lloyd said to the four Ninja. "As long as I have all this power, they'll never stop coming for me like how Melissa lost her Silver Power." He said with a frown.
"From here on out, we can't let anything separate us again," Zane spoke up in determination.
"He's right," Jay agreed.
"Absolutely," Cole added.
"Let's do this," Kai said as they were prepared for what was going to happen next.
Lloyd smiled before he conjured up his powers, which he then shot up at the bell as it rang as the light beam shines over Lloyd, feeling his Golden Powers fading before he then shot out four Elemental Energy, which hit the Ninja before the light faded as Lloyd's golden armor was now stone like.
The Ninja also felt their elemental powers coming back as Kai lit up his hand on fire, smirking at it as Zane shot ice from his hand as he formed an ice arch.
Cole then made the ground shake when he raised his hand, while Jay shot lightning through his body as he stopped and smirked down at himself.
Zane smiled at this as he spoke. "The Elemental Power… it's inside us," he said nostalgically at having their powers back.
"Fire!" Kai sings out as he shoots a big burst of flames from his hand as he smiles and then fires from both hands to make himself fly off the ground.
"Ha-ha! Anyone shocked to see me do this? Huh?" Jay quipped as he gave an electric heart from his hands.
Cole used his power to make a little hill grow underneath him. "No dirt off my shoulder." He quipped.
Zane used his power to ice surf around. "Chill out!"
They were all having fun and are excited to have their powers back. Meanwhile, the Spinjitzu brothers and Misako watched them from the entrance and Garmadon was not too keen on this idea.
"This is foolishness," Garmadon said in disappointment. "This decision puts everyone in jeopardy," He pointed out.
"But it was our son's decision to make." Misako said to her husband as she placed a hand on Garmadon's shoulder.
"And we must respect that decision." Wu added to his brother.
Garmadon huffed as he turned away, "The young take too many risks! They should listen to their mothers and fathers." He started as Wu and Misako followed him.
"Without risk, they'll never know how far they'll truly go," Wu added as they looked at the horizon as Wu placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Have faith, brother. We will catch Pythor and find Borg."
"And maybe then you will finally rest easier." Misako added with a warm smile.
"As the protectors of this land, we don't have the luxury of taking a rest," Garmadon said uneasily as the three looked at the horizon. "Where are the girls at?" He asked, noticing that the girls weren't around.
"They're at Borg's Tower." Misako answered with a sheepish look. "And let's just say, they're having a little chat."
At Borg Tower, Melissa, Nya, Rattalia, Seliel and Pixal were all in Borg's office. "I have to say, it's good to see you again, Rattalia. Lloyd and I really missed you." Melissa said with a smile at her old Serpentine friend.
"It'sssss good to ssssee you again too, Melissssa." Rattalia said with a smile before giving her a teasing smirk. "And I have to ssssay, it's about time you and Lloyd got together."
Melissa blushed at that. "Well, it was worth the wait." She said before giving Rattalia a sly smile. "So is there any Serpentine that's caught your eye?" She asked which Rattalia blushed a little.
"W-Well there isssss thisss cute Venomari that caught my eye." Rattalia said with a nervous chuckle. "Although, I become a nervousssss wreck every time she ssssssays hi to me."
"Hey, it's okay. Like how Lloyd and I came together, maybe you should take the step and try and find the courage in you to confess your feelings." Melissa assured with a smile. "I mean… it took my father's first attack in the form of a dragon to get me to confess my feelings to Lloyd, but… you get the point." She said sheepishly.
"Sssstill surprised that you're the Overlord'sssss daughter." Rattalia admitted. "But you're right, maybe I will tell Izzy how I feel about her, maybe after all thissss."
"Thata, Anacondrai." Melissa said with a smile while nudging Rattalia, who gave a giggle. "Hey Nya, question ever since you guys picked up me and Lloyd from that remote village I've been sensing some tension between Jay and Cole what's that all about?" She asked as she turned to Nya.
Nya gave a sheepish look as she rubbed her head. "Um, well, it's a bit of a long story while you two were gone." She said,
"What happened?" Melissa asked.
"Well have you heard of Perfect Match?" Nya asked nervously.
"Yeah, it's that love matching machine that's supposed to find your perfect match." Melissa said with a nod.
"Wait, you really heard of it?" Nya asked in surprise.
"When you travel across Ninjago, you know a lot of things." Melissa said with a shrug. "Although, even though it says that it's supposed to find your, quote unquote, 'perfect match', with 'Flawless results' those things shouldn't be taken seriously because why let a machine choose your soulmate when your heart can do that for you."
"I agree. I never liked thosssse types of machinesssss." Rattalia said in agreement.
"The Perfect Match is very accurate and…" Pixal tried to say.
"Not logic. Feelings, Pixal." Melissa said to Pixal, who nodded in understanding. "But anyway, why did you ask, Nya? Did you try one of them out?"
"Yeah, I did." Nya said uncomfortably.
"Well, what did that machine say who your 'Perfect Match' was?" Melissa asked with air-quotes.
Nya gave an uncomfortable look while Seliel gave Nya a look while Pixal gave an innocent shrug as Nya sighed. "It said my perfect match is Cole." She said, which shocked Melissa and Rattalia.
"Cole?" Melissa said in shock as she and Rattalia looked at each other before both of them bursting out laughing. "No offense, Nya, but throughout my time knowing you, you never had any feelings for Cole at all, so I'm glad you didn't fall for that stupid thing." She said as she noticed Nya was very uncomfortable and quiet.
"W-Wait a minute. You did?!" Rattalia asked in complete shock, as did Melissa.
"W-Well I just didn't know if that machine was right or not." Nya defended herself before getting a little bit nervous. "And I may have sorta tried to… flirt with Cole?"
This shocked Rattalia and Melissa so much. "You what?!" They exclaimed.
"It's true. She did." Seliel said with a nod and her arms crossed.
"Nya! That's basically you cheating on Jay! How could you do that to him?!" Melissa asked in complete anger.
"I know. I know! Cole told me the same thing!" Nya quickly said as she gave a guilty look. "I guess, I was caught up by the Perfect Match, that I sorta just… it just happened. I mean, Jay makes me laugh, but Cole, he's no Jay."
"That'ssss it? That'ssss your excusssse?!" Rattalia asked in disbelief.
"Have you seen how Cole can be?" Nya questioned with a look. "Compared to Jay, Cole is the only serious and strong person, give me a break. My heart was conflicted as it was."
"You never had any feelings for Cole before and now all of a sudden you have feelings for him just because a machine told you?!" Melissa exclaimed in disbelief. "That's it, if I even see a Perfect Match machine, I'm blasting it to bits." She said with a frown.
"I was planning on telling Jay, but Pixal here blurted it out after she was brought back online at the junkyard." Nya said while gesturing to Pixal. "Please don't tell Jay what I tried to do." She begged.
"I'm not gonna tell, Jay, Nya…. That's gonna be your job." Melissa said with her arms crossed.
"W-What?" Nya asked in surprise.
"Nya, you can't keep a secret like this from Jay." Melissa said with a frown. "I mean, look what happened with his friendship with Cole."
"I agree with Melisssssa, because if you keep thissss hidden from Jay, who knowsssss what might happen." Rattalia said with a frown.
"And we all saw what happens if someone else blurted it out. I'm looking at you, Pixal." Seliel said while giving Pixal a look.
"I said I was sorry. It just came out of me." Pixal said in defense.
"Nya, those Perfect Match things aren't really accurate. Watch." Melissa said as she turned to Pixal. "Pixal, who is my perfect match?"
"Scanning." Pixal said as she scanned Melissa as she blinked. "Melissa your perfect match is… Kai Smith"
"Ah, you see. Not accurate… Also eww. Why Kai?" Melissa said with a cringe while Nya looked surprised. "But anyway, don't trust so much on technology. Follow what your heart tells you."
"I… guess I was acting very stupid." Nya said, looking down in guilt.
"Oh, you think." Melissa said, giving Nya a look. "So you better tell Jay what you did…. Or I'll do it for you, capiche?"
"C-Capiche." Nya said with a sheepish look. "But, not right now. We still have Borg and Pythor to find." She said, gesturing to their mission.
"Yeah, we still need to find Borg." Melissa said.
"And my uncle." Rattalia added.
"Then let us continue our search." Pixal said with determination.
"The sooner we find them, the better." Seliel said in agreement.
"I need to go meet up with Lloyd." Melissa said before Rattalia whispered in her ear to which she nodded. "But first, there's something me and Rattalia need to do." She said as she and Rattalia gave a look at Nya.
"Uh, and what's that?" Nya asked before Melissa and Rattalia walked up to her.
"Oh, nothing you sssshould worry about." Rattalia said with a smirk as she and Melissa turned Nya around.
"W-What are you doing?" Nya asked in fear.
"On three Rattalia, one." Melissa started.
"Two." Rattalia continued as she and Melissa grabbed Nya's backside with a waistband sticking out, which made her eyes widened.
"W-Wait, what are you-" Nya tried to say.
"Three!" Melissa and Rattalia exclaimed as they tugged Nya's light-blue undies up, which made Nya scream in intense pain as she was lifted off the ground while Rattalia and Melissa kept tugging on her panties as she clenched her legs.
"Hehehe, wedgie. That's a classic." Seliel said in amusement while Pixal gave a surprised look.
"W-Why did y-y-you two-" Nya grunted before she felt herself bounce by her undies, going further down her butt as she cringed in pain. "Ow! Ow!"
"Do you really need to ask why?" Melissa asked with a brow.
"You dessserved that for your ssssstupid ideassss and cheating on your boyfriend." Rattalia said as they bounced Nya some more, making her squeal as she gave a smirk. "From now on, if you do sssssomething stupid, Melisssssa, or me if I ever visit, will do sssssomething to make you think twice by doing sssssomething that will either make you embarrassed or in pain, like a wedgie."
"T-That's not fair!" Nya cried out before she yelped as she felt another tug on her undies.
"Well you should've thought of that before trying to cheat on your boyfriend." Melissa said before she gave another idea. "And for you to think about what you've done, hey, Pixal…" She said as Pixal turn to her. "You got a hook somewhere?"
"Why yes." Pixal said as she pressed a button, which made a hook come out from a side wall. "Why do you need it?"
"To give Nya something to think about." Melissa said as she and Rattalia nodded with a smirk as Nya got nervous.
"W-Wait, don't you dare!" Nya pleaded before Rattalia launched her and Melissa up and Melissa quickly placed Nya undies on the hook, leaving Nya in a hanging wedgie as she clenched in pain. "This is not cool!" She called out as she was left dangling while part of her butt was exposed.
"Sorry, Nya, but you kinda asked for it for cheating on your boyfriend." Seliel said with a smirk.
"Can't you guys please just drop this, and please get me down from here?!" Nya pleaded as she tried her best to ease the pain.
"We will, in a few minutes, time out." Melissa said with a smirk as the girls all giggled.
"I must admit, this is humorous." Pixal said with giggles. "I can see some lessons need to be taught the hard way."
"Amen, ssssissster." Rattalia said as Nya groaned as she was left hanging.
"I shouldn't have taken the Perfect Match." Nya muttered as she was left dangling by her underwear for a bit and hoped the others wouldn't return soon.
Somewhere in an underground facility, Borg, who had the control helmet back on again and is being controlled, is welding something together. As soon as he was done, he took off his masks as his cybernetic legs walked away from it. With Nindroids around the facility, he then crawled to the wall, passing Cryptor and Pythor as they were standing on a railing.
"Pythor, my drones are starting to ask questions," Cryptor told Pythor. "You say this is the Overlord's plan, yet we have not seen him."
"No. He's, uh, consssumed at the moment," Pythor replied.
"This is an ambitious undertaking," Cryptor said with a suspicious look on his face as he looked at the White Anacondrai. "If we find out you are pretending he's alive only to use us, you will pay dearly."
"The Overlord will reveal himssself when he choossses to," Pythor firmly said as he glared at Cryptor, who backed away a bit. "And may I remind you, Cryptor, you can alwaysss be reprogrammed, ssso if I were you, I'd watch my words." He threatened.
Pythor then went went into the launch room as the door closed behind him as he pressed a button as the window opened as he looked around, seeing that the coast is clear, Pythor then started gagging as he coughed and then vomited out a bunch of dark matter, the Overlord's current state as he gagged from that.
Pythor then turned to the Overlord. "The Nindroidsss are impatient. They doubt your existence," he told the Overlord.
The Overlord then starts to form into a blob as his red eyes showed. "They mustn't see me in my weakened state. If the Ninja hadn't interrupted the transference, I wouldn't look like this," he said as he raised his hand-like claw at them as Pythor backed away as the Overlord gave a sigh. "But... Not to worry. Soon, I will be strong. And soon, we will finish Project Arcturus!" he declared as out in the launch controls revealed to be a big rocket.
"Forgive my ambivalencesss," Pythor said as he felt unsure about this. "It's just that thisss plan, though very wisssely named, it's- it's-" he started as he could not find the right words.
The Overlord then looked straight at him as his blob form got taller as Pythor backed away from them. "It's the only way I can become the Golden Master!" he declared as he glared at them with his red eyes. "Even after draining and reclaiming the Silver Powers from my daughter, with news of Lloyd giving away his Golden Power, there's no use hunting him anymore." He said as he lowered himself.
In Borg's tower, Garmadon was heading up the elevator to Borg's office as he saw his brother, wife, Mailman, Rattalia, Zane and Pixal working on the case to find Borg and Pythor so they could mount a rescue.
"Any update on the search?" Garmadon asked them.
"Our cameras haven't picked up any trace of Pythor or Borg, but the Ninja are in the field where we don't have eyes," Wu assured him before Lloyd was on his motorcycle as he was in the Toxic Bogs with Melissa at Pythor's old tomb.
"No signs of Nindroids in the Toxic Bogs." Lloyd informed them.
"And there's no sign of Nindroids or Pythor in the old Anacondrai Tomb." Melissa followed along in her ride.
"Lloyd, Melissa, while you're both out there, do you two have time to search the Glacier Barrens or the Fangpyre's old graveyard?" Wu asked the two.
"Hey, we may not be able to move mountains anymore, but we can still cover ground." Lloyd assured his uncle.
"And if I see Pythor anywhere, I'll give him a powerful kick in the face for you, Rattalia." Melissa said with a smirk.
"Thank you, Melissssa." Rattalia said with a smirk.
"Over and out." The Ninjas of Yin and Yang said as they drove off to their assigned locations.
The group then looked at the patterns on flashcards on a clue board that showed pictures of fire, Pythor, the Overlord when he possessed Garmadon, Cryptor, and the word "Arcturus".
"Project Arcturus?" Garmadon questioned, as he somehow felt familiar with the name as his brother and wife came to him.
"Two days ago, Zane and Pixal intercepted a coded message," Misako explained.
"And when Melissa was caught by the Overlord, he said something with the code name: Project Arcturus," Wu added.
"I think I may have made a discovery," The mailman said to the three as he moved the letters around to try to form a phrase. "'Carrot Cup Juster'," he read out.
"What's a juster?" Wu questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know... yet," The mailman said determinedly.
"Keep looking, I don't think that's it," Wu said as they walked to the monitor screen.
"Arcturus," Garmadon repeated as he felt it on the tip of his tongue. "Long ago, didn't we face an Anacondrai general by that name? Rattalia's father?" he asked his wife and brother.
"Indeed, we did, brother," Wu answered with a nod.
"Yessss, we even named a celestial zodiac after him." Rattalia said, bringing up a picture of the Arcturus Zodiac. "Acturus-Delta V, it's a comet that usually circled around Ninjago'ssss orbit every 3 yearssss."
"But we're not sure how they are related." Wu said in wonder as they looked at the screen as they heard an alarm beeping as they turned and saw a red light going off.
"What in Ninjago's name is that?" Garmadon asked in alarm.
"Our facial recognition software picked up someone," Pixal informed.
The group then walked up to the screen as Zane enhanced it as he typed on the keyboards that showed four vehicles, zooming in on the front one to show the driver.
"Cryptor," Wu said as he grew worried.
"My analysis can only presume they're using Borg to build something," Zane theorized.
"But what?" Pixal asked in concern for her creator.
"We need to know where those trucks are headed," Misako said seriously.
"Find us the nearest Ninja closest to that location," Wu finished as they did just that.
Meanwhile, at Chan's theater, Cole, Jay, Nya and Seliel were on their awaited double date, watching the New Starfarer movie. Nya and Seliel were sitting between the boys, Nya on Jay's left side while Seliel was on Cole's right as the four watched the movie.
Nya cringed a little once she sat down, to which Jay noticed. "Uhh, Nya, are you okay?" He asked.
"I-I'm fine. Just a bit, well, you know, wondering how this movie goes." Nya lied while Seliel gave a smirk, knowing that Nya's butt still hurts after being hung by her undies for a few minutes.
"Oh, sure. Don't worry. It's the best." Jay said with a smile while looking back into the movie.
"Still hurts, huh?" Seliel whispered to Nya with a smirk.
"Not a word." Nya muttered with a look as Seliel gave a quiet chuckle.
"Fear? Fear isn't a word where I come from!" Fritz Donnegan declared flying a ship in the movie that they were watching.
"I love Fritz Donnegan movies," Jay said as he was enjoying the movie.
"Samurai in space? Really?" Cole questioned. "Who writes this baloney?"
"I know, there are like a dozen other better names." Seliel said in agreement, which is the honest truth since this movie is a bit lame for her. "Next time, I'm choosing the movie."
"Could you all please be quiet?" A person in the theater whispered to them.
Jay reached for the popcorn that he and Nya were sharing, while Cole and Seliel just reached for their own container but they weren't paying attention to where they're hands were going and they accidentally touched each other, which they yelped in surprise as they retracted their hands.
A few audience members shushed them when they got startled. "Sorry." They whispered before turning to each other, "Sorry about that." They apologized before they realized what they did and laughed a bit.
"Why are you two so jumpy?" Jay asked in confusion. "All you did was touched hands."
"Jay, they're still new to this whole relationship thing, you were like that when you and I started dating." Nya reminded him in a quiet tone.
Nya's bracelet started beeping as a couple of girls were getting annoyed. "Hey, could you please be quiet?" one of them asked as the other threw popcorn at them.
"Please turn off all phones and devices," a small robot told Nya when it came over to them.
"Oh, right. Heh. Sorry," Nya said as she turned off her bracelet.
"They're not picking up," Zane told them as he can't get there to the others in the city. "Kai is the nearest in proximity." He pointed to a location on the computer screen that showed where Kai is.
"And he should be able to get there quickly in the Prototype X1," Pixal added.
"Good, but tell him not to engage," Wu told them. "We can't let them know they're being followed."
"But we must know what they're carrying as well," Misako added.
Outside the city at a small gas station, Kai was seen flirting with a girl at a counter as she was enjoying a slushie.
"So, these are the hottest snacks you got?" Kai asked as he held a bag of chips before she gave a shrug in response. "Hotter than this?" He then created a small flame on his hand before he put the bag over the flame and she chuckled. He then ate what was in the bag before he blew a puff of smoke in the shape of a heart towards her.
The girl chuckled at his flirting before she noticed the large red car with flames on the side parked outside. "That your ride out there? Pretty hot," she told him.
"That old thing? That's just the Prototype X1 Roadster," Kai told her. "I'm kind of a secret agent. Ah! Oops, guess it's not a secret anymore. You wanna go for a spin? I know Spinjitzu."
"Kai. Kai, I need you," Pixal called through the communication radio on the Prototype X1.
"Not now, Pixal," Kai said through his teeth, unknowingly earning the ire of the girl he was currently flirting with.
"Who's Pixal?" the girl asked with disgust before she threw the slushie in his face.
Kai groaned as he wiped the smoothie off his face and ran out the store as he jumped on the Prototype X1.
"Did I catch you in a bad time?" Pixal asked through the radio.
"Ah, this better be good," Kai sighs as he revved up the engine as the girl from the store looked out through the door. As the engine fired up, she covered her eyes from the run-off while the Roadster sped up at high speed. The girl huffed as she was covered in soot, glaring at where Kai left.
The Roadster kept revving down the road as Pixal spoke up. "There's a Nindroid convoy heading west and General Cryptor is on it," Pixal informed.
"Cryptor?" Kai said seriously.
"I need you to follow, but not be spotted." Pixal instructed.
"I'm a Ninja. That's part of the job," Kai boasted with a smile as he put on some sunglasses.
"I mean it, Kai," Pixal said seriously. "It's imperative your carelessness does not jeopardize the mis-" Her message was cut off as Kai turned off the radio.
"Relax," Kai said as he looked at the road. "When have I ever been careless?" he questioned himself confidently. as he steered the Roadster, moving out of the way of a car and zigzagging across the road. He lifted his sunglasses and looked at the rearview mirror as he went past a digital billboard, which showed Pixal on the screen.
"Kai, can you hear me?" Pixal asked as she tried to contact him as a boy on a bike looked in awe before he crashed into the board, landing on his hooves as he looked up in awe.
As Kai continued to drive, the systems on the dashboard started beeping before the steering wheel moved on its own.
"Huh, what's happening?" Kai asked as the Roadster started to move side to side on its own to avoid the passing vehicles. "Oh! Whoa!" The communication radio turned back on as Kai was being moved from side to side.
"I've taken control of the X1 remotely," Pixal told him. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
"Fine. Have it your way," Kai said as he sat back and relaxed. "How close are we?"
"Approaching convoy in three minutes," Pixal answered before he had a smirk on his face as he raised his sunglasses.
"Let's see if we can make it in two," Kai said before he fired the boosters up and went faster.
"You can't control your team," Garmadon complained as they saw on the monitor how close he was getting to the convoy.
"Have faith, brother," Wu told him.
"He's ascending the mountain pass now," Zane told them.
"He better sssslow down or they're going to ssssee him," Rattalia said before she turned to Pixal. "Better to let him control it again."
"Kai, you better take control again," Pixal told him on the communication system.
"Okay," Kai said as he was given back control. He then sped through the mountain pass before he looked up and saw his target right on the upper road.
"Remember, keep your distance," Pixal told him. "We only need to find out where they are heading."
"Boring!" Kai called out. "What I want to know is, what are they hiding?" he then pressed down on the gas pedal to try and catch up. He accidentally bumped another car on the road when he passed by.
"Careful!" Pixal said through the communication radio. "Keep your eyes on the road, Kai."
"I was just getting the feel of it," Kai explained himself. "You know, every car handles differently."
"Yet this car is worth far more than you," Pixal responded. "I would not advise returning it with a scratch."
"Noted. Let's see if we can find some killer tunes," Kai remarked.
Kai pressed a button on the dashboard which accidentally fired two rockets right when the convoy was going over a bridge. Pythor in the first vehicle saw the two rockets explode.
"What's that?" Pythor asked before he saw Kai driving in the X1 coming up behind. "Hmm? We're being followed. Speed up!" He ordered Cryptor in the driver's seat.
"Yes, master," Cryptor replied as he and the other Nindroids sped up. Some Nindroids in a pickup truck kicked down the back before two on HoverCycles with saw blades attached to the bottom rolled out. The two of them took to the skies and made it over to where Kai was driving.
"Uh-oh!" Kai shouted when he raised his sunglasses as he saw the two Nindroids heading towards him. He then quickly steered to the left as to nearly dodge one of them, the saw blade of that Cycle grazing the car. He then steered right to dodge another which also grazed the car. It then swerved a bit as he made it to the bridge.
"You've done enough. From here on out, I'm in control," Pixal told him as the steering wheel moves on its own.
"Hey, I was driving," Kai complained.
"Not anymore," Pixal replied as he noticed she was making the car go faster.
"What are you doing?" Kai asked in concern.
"Now that our plan is foiled, our only hope is to get you on board that semi-truck to see what they are transporting," Pixal explained as he was catching up to one of the tankers.
"Ah. I love it when a plan comes together," Kai commented with confidence as the X1 was driving up next to the tankers.
The Nindroids on the pickup truck saw him before they all blasted lasers from their eyes at him. The car swerved a bit as it took fire before Pixal made the car go back. Once it was far enough, she put it in full throttle as it sped up.
Pythor looked back and saw he was still on their tail while the two Nindroids in the sky were far behind. He then noticed a sign that said a cliff warning passed by and got an awful idea.
"Shoot the mountain!" Pythor ordered.
Then Cryptor pressed a button as the blaster on his vehicle then began to shoot at the side of the mountains as rocks began to fall.
Kai screamed as the engine part of the X1 shot missiles as it blasted some rocks. Kai made it through, but two of the Nindroids in the air got hit by the rocks that were in the air as they exploded.
"Ah. That was close," Kai said in relief.
"I thought 'close' was the objective," Pixal said as the X1 sped up as it made it to the side of the truck. Mini-Droid saw this as he then swerved the truck to the side, the tank nearly hit Kai but Pixal steered it to the back just in time. "I can't get past him. Get ready and hold on."
"For what?" Kai asked.
"This," Pixal replied as the seat he's in lowered before a pair of handlebars popped up in front of him. The hood of the car then raised up, which made him worried.
"What's happening? Kai asked before a motorcycle that he's on drove forward and he screamed in fear. Said motorcycle was driving forward towards the tank before it bumped into the bumper and Kai was fling towards the back of it. He looked back and saw the motorcycle going in reverse before retrieving back into the X1.
"Keep your sunglasses close," Pixal told him through the sunglasses. "They're also a receiver so we can communicate."
"All right, time to heat things up," Kai said as he got on top of one of the tankers before he saw a bunch of Nindroids on top. They laughed as they were firing lasers at him, so he quickly ducked down for cover.
Kai was not out however as he concentrated his powers into his hand. "You're fired!" He shot a fireball right at one of the Nindroids and knocked him off before he fired another at a second one. "And you're fired!" he shot the last one off and saw them rolling away behind as he climbed on top.
Kai then saw that he accidentally lit the cover on the truck on fire. "Uh-oh," he said to himself about his mistake. "NINJA-GO!" Kai called out as he did Spinjitzu to put out the flames on top as he made it to the other side. But what he saw was a jet logo with a fire warning on it, which made him more worried when he realized what it was.
"Uh, Pixal? I'm sitting on a tanker of jet fuel. And I think I just lit the match," Kai said in worry as the truck kept going with the X1 still following.
"Jet fuel?" Garmadon said in shock from what Kai just informed. "He needs to get out of that tanker before it explodes!" he called out.
"Pixal, get Kai out of there," Misako said to the female droid.
Pixal nodded as she turned back to the speaker. "Kai, there's a series of one lane tunnels up ahead," she informed.
"We must time it right to get you off of there," Pixal informed through the glasses as Kai listened carefully.
And then Min-Droid and two Nindroids are climbing on the truck as they fire a couple of shots at Kai. The fire pan backed up as he then tripped in between the two tankers as he held in place with both his arms and legs to keep him from falling.
The X1 then drove up beside him as it caused a tanker to leak out jet fuel as it drove next to Kai. "Hurry. Jump, now!" Pixal informed.
But before Kai could even act, Min-Droid grabbed Kai by one of his legs as he was dangling between the tankers as the Nindroids laughed at him.
As they are about to enter the tunnel, Pixal backed the X1 in reverse as she got behind it so she would not crash into the wall, Min-Droid and the two Nindroids turned and saw the tunnel coming up as Min-Droid ducked, but the other two Nindroids were not as lucky as they were hit by the top of the tunnel, decapitating the two Nindroids heads as the convoy and the X1 went through.
As the tanker drove through the tunnel, Kai began to fight with Min-Droid and surprisingly the little guy was doing very well against him. Kai then tackled him as the X1 came up to the side.
"Kai, now is no time to fight," Pixal told him before he punched Min-Droid off him.
At the end of the tunnel, a pony is busy painting a white line with traffic cones on the road as he hummed to himself happily, but then he saw the Nindroid convoy heading right towards him as he ducked out of the way as Cryptor drove at the side of the truck and bumped the X1 back as it skidded to a stop.
"Getting kind of hot up here," Kai called out as he fought Min-Droid back. "Where are you?" he asked Pixal.
"Tied up at the moment," Pixal informed as she drove the X 1 again as she sped up to the convoy again.
The Nindroids saw this as they started blasting at the X1. Pixal then drove the X1 to hit the truck full of Nindroids as she knocked it to the side of the wall, as she kept firmed on it as another tunnel was coming and the truck full of Nindroids were about to crash into the side of the wall.
"Aah!" The Nindroid driver yelled when he saw this as he started baring his horn until it crashed as the X1 and fuel truck went into the tunnel as the Nindroids that survived the crash fell into the ground as they got up with a groan.
In the tunnel, Kai then lifts Min-Droid up on the ceiling as sparks begin to come out of him from the speed the truck is moving.
"You like that, Sparky? Heh!" Kai taunted as he gave a smile, but then one of the sparks Min-Droid produced fell into the Kai of jet fuel as flames lit up as it made its way to the truck. "Oops," Kai said sheepishly at his mistake as Min-Droid then hit a traffic light as Kai turned and saw him dangling from it before he fell into the floor as the X1 hit him as he held onto the front of it.
"Thanks for the ride," Min-Droid said before he shot a laser at the engine. It then caught a flame before the X1 pulled to a stop. The flame however was catching up to the tanker and Kai knew he did not have long.
"Pixal, I gotta go! Like, now!" he called out.
"I can't get to you! There's no time!" Pixal told him as Min-Droid got on the hood of the X1. He tilted his head before she had the hood of the X1 pop open to get him off. Meanwhile, Kai saw the flames reaching the leak and traveling up before he quickly had a thought and ran to the front just as the tanker exploded.
"Kai!" Zane called out when they saw an explosion on the monitors and feared for Kai's safety.
The entire tunnel lit up as the fuel truck and the vehicle that Pythor and Cryptor are driving on got pushed from the blast as they were pushed out of the tunnel, while one tanker survived as they kept going.
"Kai! Can you hear me?" Pixal called out through the sunglasses as Kai managed to get under the truck before the fiery explosion.
"Loud and clear," Kai answered as he lifted his sunglasses up. "Well, maybe not so clear on the back of this truck," he commented.
"He's alive!" Zane cheered as they all laughed and sigh in relief that Kai is okay.
At the front of the truck, Pythor gave an evil laugh as he brought out his communicator radio, while Kai listened in from underneath.
"Ha-ha-ha! We lost him! Might have lost one payload, but we still have the other," Pythor informed with a smirk.
"Excellent," the Overlord spoke through the radio. "Head to the launch site."
"On my way." Pythor confirmed.
Kai widened his eyes as he heard the Overlord's voice through the radio as he spoke through his sunglasses. "Listen up," he started…
"The Overlord is alive," Kai informs the others, which made the group shocked by this.
"What?" Wu asked in shock.
"The Overlord escaped!?" Miasko asked in shock.
Wu then spoke out. "Kai, do you know where they're heading?" He questioned.
Then suddenly, the tanker stopped as Kai noticed.
"Wait, They're stopping. This might be it," Kai informed as Pythor heard him as he moved his head to find the source. "I have to be quiet so they don't find my perfect hiding spot." However, Pythor ducked his head down and saw Kai.
"You!" Pythor yelled.
Kai flinched, realizing that his cover was blown as he turned to Pythor. "Huh? Me?" he asked innocently, right before Pythor punched his lights out.
After they realized Kai had been caught Zane turned to his friends. "We lost the signal, Kai must've been spotted." He informed them.
"Gather everyone," Wu ordered. "We have to find out where they're going before it's too late."
A little bit later, Cole, Seliel, Jay and Nya exit the movie theater after it was finished.
"Ah! Greatest! Movie! Ever! Ha-ha!" Jay cheered.
"Yeah, it was pretty good," Nya said with a smile.
Seliel shrugged, "It was alright I guess." She simply said.
Cole turned to Seliel. "Well, Seliel, a deals a deal." He whispered to her so that Nya and Jay were quiet. "I promised that after Jay's date movie thing, you didn't have to pretend to be my girlfriend anymore."
Seliel looked away for a bit before she spoke. "Well, to be honest, even with all that pretending thing, I kinda see you as a good guy, Cole." She honestly said.
"Really?" Cole asked in surprise.
"Yeah, and well to be honest," Seliel started as she scratched her cheek while blushing, "That was probably the first date I ever had." She admitted.
Cole was surprised by that as he gave a small blush and gave a chuckle. "Well, that's great you felt that way. I guess the whole acting thing kinda felt real, huh?" He asked.
"It sure felt that way." Seliel answered with a smile. "But be honest with me Cole, was your whole being my boyfriend thing for real or a bunch of baloney?" She asked.
Cole then got nervous as he sweat a bit. "Well, I, uh, well, um…" He stuttered nervously as then signal lights that had the elemental emblems of Cole and Jay appeared in the sky. "Hey, they need us back at headquarters." He spoke out, feeling relieved of the timing.
"We better get to Borg's Tower." Jay said as the four rushed to Borg's Tower.
"So, Nya, have you told Jay yet?" Seliel asked as she and Nya were behind the boys.
Nya gave a sheepish look. "Um… I most certainly… did not." She said sheepishly, which made Seliel raise a brow.
"Seriously, you still haven't?" Seliel questioned.
"I'm still waiting for the right moment. And now's is definitely not the time." Nya said in defense while gesturing to the two Ninja logos in the sky.
"Well you better tell him soon or else Melissa is gonna do it for ya." Seliel advised.
"I know." Nya said with a nervous look. "But what if I uhh…. Choose Joel?" She asked with a nervous smile.
"Joel?" Seliel questioned with a brow.
"Yeah. He's the best part of Cole and Jay put together. Part Jay, Part Cole. Joel!" Nya said with a nervous smile as Seliel just looked at Nya before slowly walking behind her. "Seliel, what are yo-Eeeep!" She shrieked quietly as Seliel then gave Nya a wedgie as she was hoisted up a bit. "Oooh. That hurts!" She muttered as Seliel put her down. "Why?! I just finally got over the previous one!"
"Sorry, Nya, but if you try something stupid or think of it, you get a refresher." Seliel said with a dull look. "And since Melissa or Rattalia isn't here, I have to do it for them, which is kinda fun to teach you a lesson." She added with a chuckle as Nya tucked her panties back in place.
"Figures. I guess I won't come out of this for a while, huh?" Nya asked while rubbing her backside.
"Nope. Now let's go." Seliel said as she rushed forward as Nya sighed.
"If this is a thing for now on, I'm gonna have to prepare myself." Nya muttered as she rushed after the others.
Just then, they made it to Borg's tower as they went up the elevator as they entered Borg's office as they saw the others had regrouped.
"We got here as fast as we could," Nya said as she was limping a bit, which Melissa and Rattalia noticed but kept quiet.
"Sorry we didn't get your message sooner, we were at the movies." Seliel explained.
"Well, glad you guys could make it." Melissa said to them. "How was the double date?"
"It was alright," Cole answered simply, glancing at Seliel for a moment before looking at them, "So what's the problem?"
"The Overlord is back," Zane informed. "And he has Kai."
"The Overlord?!" The others spoke in shock that the Overlord was still alive.
"Yep. My father is still alive." Melissa said with a growl. "Seriously doesn't he ever stay down?!"
"Don't worry Melissa, we'll make sure your father never comes back." Lloyd assured while placing a hand on Melissa's shoulder as she gave a soft smile.
"We know they plan to launch Project Arcturus tonight," Misako answered. "But we need to figure out what it is in order to save him."
"Think. Think…" Wu said as they were trying to figure out what Project Arcturus is. "The answer must be right in front of us."
"The Overlord's dire wish is to become the Golden Master." Lloyd reminded them. "Maybe that has something to do with it?"
"Good Lloyd, but what sssenssse doesss all of thisss make?" Rattalia asked in wonder. "Because it has sssomething to do with a project that hassss in my father'sss name."
"The bigger question is: What is Project Arcturus?" Wu questioned.
Pixal was searching through the computers to see if they can find any information about it, but so far nothing.
"I have run every combination of these clues through my database to see how they are connected, but there is no correlation," Pixal said to them.
"Maybe there's a reason why it's not your database," Zane suggested.
"But everything in Ninjago history has been recorded inside me." Pixal added as she gestured to herself, while also stating how she backed the system with the database in her to get back the loss data, without the Overlord virus.
"Not everything, do you all remember when we followed Garmadon back in time?" Zane asked as the others nodded in agreement, while Lloyd, Rattalia and Melissa were confused.
"Uh, we did?" Lloyd asked in confusion.
"When did we do that?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah, I don't remember you guysssss going back in time while I wasssss staying with you guyssss." Rattalia said in confusion.
"You three don't remember." Zane said to them. "Because when we returned to the present, it had been altered by what we had done in the past."
"Wait, is that why you all acted weird that night and mentioned that Garmadon had something called a Mega Weapon?" Melissa asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Trust us, things change without that thing." Cole said with a shrug.
"But I remember because I was there." Garmadon said while giving a serious expression at what happened at that event. "You use the Golden Weapons to destroy my Mega Weapon. But when they collided, perhaps they weren't destroyed but were shot into…"
"Space." Wu finished as he stroked his beard while looking at the monitor as the others walked up to him.
"And since Lloyd gave away his power and Melissa lost her Silver Power, the Overlord's going after the only thing that can turn him into the Golden Master: The Golden Weapons." Nya said grimly as they looked at the monitor.
"Quick, where do the Serpentine study the stars?" Garmadon asked quickly.
Zane ran towards the computer as he searched up and found a snake icon on it. As he pressed it, the screen showed a familiar landmark they had not been to in a long while.
"The ancient city of Ouroboros," Zane informed.
"The Losssst City!?" Rattalia called out as she facepalmed herself. "Dang it! I completely forgot about that place! It isss where Arcturusss-Delta V fliessss closssessst to Ninjago."
"Then we must go there at once!" Garmadon announceseriously.
"How do you know Nindroids will be there, hun?" Misako asked while placing a hand on Garmadon's shoulder.
Garmadon gave a determined expression. "Faith," he said as thunder struck.
"Okay, guys. Let's prepare our vehicles and go to the Lost City!" Melissa said as the others nodded and ran off to prep their vehicles, while most of them were gone, with only Nya, Seliel, Melissa, and Rattalia alone as the others went to prep the vehicles while Nya was getting some tools ready.
"Alright, Sssseliel, what did Nya do thissss time?" Rattalia asked with her arms crossed.
"Well, first off, she told me that she didn't have time to tell Jay the truth yet…" Seliel started.
"Understandable considering what's happening right now." Melissa said with an understanding nod. "But I can tell something else happened."
"Well she wanted to say that her other option is 'Joel'." Seliel said with air quote fingers and a brow. "Best parts of Jay and Cole, which doesn't exist if she can't tell Jay the actual truth."
"Ssssseriously?" Rattalia asked with a brow as Melissa sighed. "Isss she really sssstalling for time over fear?"
"Nya, come here." Melissa said as Nya flinched in fear slowly walked up to her right before Melissa slapped her on the cheeks a bit.
"Ow!" Nya muttered while rubbing her cheeks. "Was that really necessary?"
"Nothing then tough love will sssssnap you out of it, Nya." Rattalia said with a dull look.
"Joel? Are you kidding me right now Nya?!" Melissa asked in disbelief. "Are you really that desperate?"
"I-I panicked." Nya said nervously. "I mean, you try finding a perfect time to talk and… and…" She stammered.
"Look I get it, Nya, it's not the right time to tell Jay about your stupidity but you can't just keep dodging a bullet." Melissa said with a firm yet soft tone. "Because if you do, it will really make things much worse."
"I know. I know. I'll find the right moment to tell him. I just… need time." Nya said with a concerned look while rubbing her head.
"Well, you better." Seliel said with a look. "Because seriously, if you keep making stupid or stubborn decisions, one of us is gonna give you a refresher and make you have second thoughts. And since Rattalia and I can't be around every time, Melissa will do that."
"Seriously?" Nya asked with a frown.
"Just be glad it's not one of the boys." Melissa said with a shrug. "Because if they saw what we did to you, you would be embarrassed. Unless we think of another embarrassing thing for you to think twice about your choices." She said with a smirk as Seliel and Rattalia giggled.
Nya groaned. "At least the others didn't see that. That would've been way more embarrassing." She muttered. "Now, can we please catch up to the others and get to the City of Ouroboros? We gotta stop Pythor and the Overlord's plans and save my brother."
"Sure thing." Melissa nodded as the girls rushed off. "Just remember, you know if you make a wrong choice, you'll get karma."
"Yeah, I know." Nya said with a groan as they rushed off.
Meanwhile, Kai has his arms chained up while Pythor approaches him with a smug smile on his face.
"Hope you like barbecues. We're about to have one," Pythor told him. "One barbecue Ninja. Well done please." He taunted with a chuckle.
The Ninja drove through the desert in their vehicles while heading straight for the city of Ouroboros.
Pythor entered the launch room as they saw the mind-controlled Borg waiting for him.
"Prepare for lunch," Pythor said before realizing what he said. "Oh, sorry. I meant 'launch'," He corrected.
Borg moved his hand, about to press a button.
The Ninja then drove towards the center of the city as they parked their vehicles at the edge of the center as they hopped out to inspect the area.
"I don't get it. Where are they?" Cole asked when he hopped out of his mech.
"Dad said they would be here." Lloyd said.
"Well, your dad was wrong," Jay told Lloyd. "We should have never listened to him." They then heard and felt rumbling coming from beneath them.
"I sense you are mistaken, Jay" Zane said.
Just then, the floor below begins to open slowly. "Everyone, run!" Cole called out.
The Ninja yelled as they tried to run from the hatch, but they slipped and fell into the hatch as they slid down on the rocket as they landed on a walking platform. Jay looked up and saw the rocket.
"Arcturus?" Jay read the name of the rocket.
The Ninja got up as they looked at the bottom floor.
"It's Kai!" Lloyd called out as they saw Kai chained up at the bottom of the rocket exhaust port. "We need to save him!" He called out.
"No, we need that launch key to stop the launch command." Zane called out as he pointed to the launch room.
"Zane's right. If my father gets the Golden Weapons, he'll be too powerful." Melissa said in agreement as the Ninja ran to the launch room.
At the bottom, Pythor turned and saw the Ninja running on the platform. "Stop them!" He ordered the Nindroids.
The Nindroids then started blasting the Ninja as they destroyed the platform, but Lloyd and Melissa held onto the edge of the railing as the others fell to the floor.
"Just stop that launch!" Kai muttered through his tight mask.
The Nindroids then charge at Cole, Jay and Zane as they start fighting and kicking some back.
"Attack!" Pythor yelled out as more Nindroids surrounded the others.
Melissa got on the railing as she lifted Lloyd up. "Come on Lloyd. The others got this, we gotta get that key and stop the launch to save Kai and prevent my father from getting the Golden Weapons." She said,
"Got it," Lloyd nodded as the two jumped before the railing fell as the door opened as they went in.
Kai then tugged his chained hand hard as he then swung out of the exhaust launch of the rocket.
Melissa and Lloyd were about to remove the key, but then the mind-controlled Borg came crawling from the ceiling as the two looked up.
"Borg!?" Lloyd said in shock as he kicked the two back as Pythor came in from the other door as he chuckled.
Kai then shoots his fire element at the Nindroids as he hits some of them. Zane shoots his ice as he froze one while it was on the ground. Jay electrocuted one as the Nindroid sputtered out.
Cole just fights with hands since these powers would not work on something in a place that is made of metal. Seeing that they are being beaten, Cryptor went up the rail as he called out to his troops.
"Retreat!" Cryptor yelled to his troops as the remaining Nindroids went into the rocket.
Cole saw this as he gave chase. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" He mocked as the hatched closed as Cole tried to open it, but couldn't as he turned to the others. "Unh! It won't budge!" He called out.
"Everyone, we need your help!" Lloyd shouted as he and Melissa were being held over the door by Borg.
"Oh, little Lloyd and Melissa, needing help." Pythor said in amusement. "You shouldn't have given up all that power Lloyd, hmm?"
"You and my father won't get away with this Pythor!" Melissa shouted with a glare.
"Oh, but we will get away with it, my dear." Pythor said with a smirk. "After all, your father is resting after he took back your Silver Power." He said as Melissa growled hatefully while he turned the launch key.
"T-Minus 30." As the countdown clock started ticking and the others freed Kai, Borg let go of both Lloyd and Melissa before the others caught them. As the countdown was already at 24, the doors shut as Borg retreated in.
"We need to get back up there!" Lloyd told the others.
"Forget them!" Cole shouted as he ran over to them. "We need to get out of here!" The countdown was at 20 and still going.
"But what about the Golden Weapons!? We can't let them get to them!" Melissa pointed out.
"There's more pressing problems, like an entire rocket ship pressing on us!" Jay pointed out as the countdown was at 14.
"We need to do everything in our power to make sure they don't reach those weapons!" Lloyd told the others as he jumped over a hatchet at the bottom of the ship before opening it up.
"He's right. If we can't stop the launch, we might as well join the launch!" Melissa added with a serious look.
"Are you both nuts?!" Cole asked as he already got an idea of what the Ninjas of Yin and Yang are up to. "Ninja don't belong in space!"
"I'm with Cole on this one!" Jay agreed. "This is even beyond me!" Zane climbed in with Lloyd and Melissa as the countdown was at 9.
"We have to try." Lloyd said as Kai joined them.
"You said nothing was ever going to separate us again." Melissa reminded them while giving a determined look. "Well, we're going. Are you with us or not?"
The countdown was already at 5 while Cole and Jay looked at one another before knowing this is it. They quickly climbed in before Zane shut the hatchet as the countdown reaches zero.
As the rest of the Ninja's friends were on the outskirts of the city, they were blinded by a bright light coming up from the city before they saw a rocket blasting off.
"They're too late," Nya said in dread when they saw the rocket blasting off.
Seliel looked on in worried. "They couldn't stop the countdown in time." She added as they all looked at one another in concern.
"I'm reading Zane's signal aboard that rocket ship, along with five other life forms," Pixal told the others.
"They're going after the Golden Weapons?" Misako asked in shock and worried.
"By father's." Wu gasped.
"You wanted them to take risks," Garmadon reminded his brother. "To see how far they'd go. Is this what you had in mind?! How far?! How far must they go?!"
Wu did not answer before he looked up at the rocket leaving the planet's atmosphere. "Come back to us, Ninja," Wu breathed. "Come back safe."
To be continued...
A/N: And that was Codename: Arcturus and Lloyd may have given up his Golden Powers but it appears that the Overlord found another way to become the Golden Master and that is going after the Golden Weapons, will the Ninja make it in time to stop the Nindroids from getting them? Find out in the next chapter. Leave a review and tell us what you think.
Up Next: The Ninja have to stop the Nindroids from getting the Golden Weapons.
Here's the Cast List.
Jillian Michaels as Lloyd and Fritz Donnagan; Tara Strong as Melissa and Movie Goer; Vincent Tong as Kai; Michael Adamthwaite as Jay and Mini-Droid; Brent Miller as Zane and Robot Usher; Andrew Francis as Cole and Nindroid; Kelly Metzger as Nya; Paul Dobson as Wu; Mark Oliver as Garmadon; Kathleen Barr as Misako; Scott McNeil as The Overlord; Michael Dobson as Pythor; Richard Newman as Cryptor; Jennifer Hayward as Pixal and Checkout Girl; Ashleigh Ball as Seliel; and Tabitha St. Germain as Rattalia.