☯☼🏮Ninjago: The Master of Crystal💎🏹✳

Racer Seven

Cole: What do you think that does? (He points to a lever.)

Kai: Maybe some kind of turbo boost?

Cole: Or a weapon?

Coral: I wouldn't touch that. You remember what happened to Kai when he pressed a button in the garage don't you? 

Kai: (He scowls.) Huh, there's a lot of weird wiring in this thing. Let's just worry about the engine. (Just then, Nya's vehicle explodes.)

Jay: Nya! Are you okay?

Nya: Ugh! Stupid, stubborn piece of - ugh! (She kicks her vehicle. Scott puts it out with a fire extinguisher.)

Kai: Can we fix it?

Nya: The whole engine blew. No!

Scott: Yeah, it's toast.

Cole: Well, we gotta do something. We need six vehicles to enter the Speedway, and we've only got five now.

Jay: The race starts tomorrow at dawn. Where are we gonna get another car in twelve hours?

Lloyd: (He enters the garage.) I might have an idea.

Jay: Whoa-ho! What's up with the fresh new duds?

Lloyd: It's a disguise. I was at the Speedway Racetrack. I saw a driver there. She was good, really good.

Scott: Oh, Racer Seven? Don't bother. She's an NPC, she's part of the game.

Nya: So?

Scott: So she's programmed to lose. Every race she wipes out at the fourth mile marker. She's just there to provide a challenge to the other racers. She can't win.

Jay: You mean Unagami programmed her to lose?

Scott: As long as I've been here, she's been racing. Every single race, every one, she wipes out. It's part of her programming.

Nya: That's terrible.

Jay: Yeah. Nobody should be programmed to lose.

Lloyd: Okino broke his programming.

Coral: You think she can too?

Lloyd: (He gives Nya the helmet.) It's worth a shot. Do you know where I can find her?

Scott: She eats at a noodle stand in the marketplace after every race. I'm telling you, you're wasting your time.

Lloyd: We've got nothing to lose. (He exits the garage.)

(At the marketplace, Racer Seven walks to the noodle stand.)

Man: Good try, Seven!

Man: Better luck next time.

Man: Yeah, those turns are mighty tricky.

Racer Seven: (Sighs.) Give me four.

Sushi Chef: Who?

Racer Seven: No. Four. Two plus two, four.

Sushi Chef: (He gives her two.) Mm. Two. (Racer Seven sighs and plays with her chopsticks.) 

Lloyd: Have you ever noticed you always wipe out in the exact same spot?

Racer Seven: Hey. You're the guy from the racetrack. Where's my helmet?

Lloyd: You always wipe out at the fourth mile marker. Why is that, do you think?

Racer Seven: What? Who are you?

Lloyd: A friend. And I don't have long. So if you want a chance of winning, a real chance, you have to listen to me.

Racer Seven: Okay.

Lloyd: You're not gonna like it, but this is the truth. Everything around you, all of this, everything you think is real, it's not. Prime Empire, the Speedway Five-Billion, Terra Technica, all of it. It's part of an incredibly complex video game, and you're part of that game, too.

Racer Seven:Pfft. (Laughs.) Right.

Lloyd: No, listen! Every race you've ever run, you always crash in the same place. It's because you were programmed to. You were programmed by the game to lose, but you don't have to. You can break the cycle. I've seen it done.

Racer Seven: Okay. Listen, pal. In about two seconds, I'm gonna call the Red Visors, so back off.

Lloyd: Just think about it. When you're ready to listen, I'll be at the empty lot in the market district. Nobody should be programmed to lose, Seven. You deserve a chance to cross that finish line. (He leaves as drones fly overhead.)

(Racer Seven has several flashbacks of her previous races, all resulting in her crashing at the exact same spot. She gasps.)

Racer Seven: He's right. It - it's real, everything he said. (She drives off.)

(At Scott's garage, the ninja sigh as they finish up.)

Jay: I can't believe we rebuilt five vehicles in twenty-four hours. (He yawns.)

Coral: I can't believe it either. 

Cole: Not that it matters. We're still one short.

Lloyd: Maybe not.

Nya: The race starts in ten minutes, Lloyd. If she isn't here by now, she isn't coming. (A car honks outside.)

Racer Seven: Hello? Hello? It's me, Racer Seven! I'm here. I believe you! Please! (She bumps into the invisible garage.) What the? (The door opens, revealing the ninja and Scott.)

Lloyd: You came.

Racer Seven: What is this?

Lloyd: There's no time to explain. These are my friends: Jay, Cole, Kai, Nya, Coral, and Scott. We need to enter the Speedway, and we're one car short. We need a car, and we need a driver. We need you.

Racer Seven: You said I was programmed to lose.

Lloyd: Not if you want it badly enough. I believe you can win that race, if we work together. What do you say?

Racer Seven: This can't be real. This - this is crazy.

Lloyd: Are you in, or not? (He gives her her helmet.)

(She takes the helmet and smiles.)