Unlikely Allies (Ninjago Season 11)

Chapter 10: Outmatched

After the next day passed for what seemed so short, Lloyd and Akita continued their journey towards The Ice Castle on his Titan Mech, while holding Akita, who was in her wolf form. The journey seemed like it would take forever until they would finally arrive at The Ice Castle and save Zane.

Lloyd managed to spot the Castle, but it was across a glacier. "There it is."

Akita quickly back into her form, and then looks at Lloyd. "What are we waiting for?"

"It's going to be dark soon." Lloyd said. "We'll have a better chance of crossing the glacier by daylight".

As night falls, Akita and Lloyd sit by the lantern, trying to get warm from its light, thankfully, it was working. But then Akita looked at Lloyd. "When you have rescued your friend Zane, what will you do?" She asked, curious about this Energy Elemental.

"Go back to Ninjago, if there's a way." Lloyd replied simply. "What about you? You didn't answer me before."

Akita looked at the ground. "I...I do not know. The forest has been my home for a long time."

"Maybe you can come with us!" Lloyd offered with a smile.

Akita seemed rather hopeful after hearing that. "Do you have Formlings in Ninjago?"

"Uhh...Well, not exactly..."

Akita sighed sadly. "Then I would be alone there, too."

Lloyd shook his head immediately after she said that. "You wouldn't be alone! You'd be with us! We have a really cool monastery, video games, a dojo, an entire city! But, uh, there's just these lightning chickens you have to watch out for." He chuckled.

Akita snorted and began to laugh, despite her being so focused on her goal to kill The Ice Emperor, she...enjoyed Lloyd's company. She had been out in the forest until she had become a teenager, with nothing but nature as her companion. But when she was with Lloyd, she felt...happy. It was nice to smile and laugh again. But then, her wolf instincts suddenly kicked in...She smelled something. She sniffed the air and then detected a familiar chill...Boreal had returned.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

Akita growled, angered that The Ice Dragon was returning. "Something is coming." She said as she quickly transformed into her animal form again. Lloyd nods and quickly jumps back into his mech and starts it up, preparing for battle.

They spot The Ice Dragon returning to the castle after succeeding in whatever he was called for. Lloyd and Akita quickly hide, trying to avoid Boreal seeing them, thankfully they succeed and Boreal does not notice. Lloyd sighs, relieved. It seems like another battle was no longer necessary. Until Akita barked, alerting Lloyd. He turned around and then saw Boreal diving straight toward them.

Lloyd quickly activated the shuriken slicer on his mech and ran in front of Akita. "Akita, get behind me!" Boreal roars and blasts his ice breath out at The Titan Mech, but Lloyd blocks the ice and reflects it back. 

Boreal screeches and flies up, dodging the reflected blast. He then roars and blasts his ice around Lloyd, trapping the mech in some kind of small ice prison. "Damn!" Lloyd cried, trying to break out. Akita barks at Lloyd, but Boreal lands on the ice and prepares to freeze her the same way he did all the villages he encountered, but Akita dodges the ice, leaps under the dragon, and snarls at him. While the small battle between Akita and Boreal is happening, Lloyd manages to break the mech free of the ice. Boreal turns around and quickly tries to freeze him, but Lloyd grabs the dragon by the mouth mouth and tosses him to the ground. Boreal then swings his tail at The Titan Mech and tries to fly away, but Lloyd grabs its tail, trying to drag him back to the ground. Boreal roars loudly and freezes the right hand of the mech. Boreal growls and then soars into the air, dragging The Titan Mech and Lloyd along with him.

"No! Not good, not good!" Lloyd cried out.

"Warning: Home integrity at 40%." The mech's computer warned, seems like the damage done to it by The Ice Behemoth and Boreal had finally taken its toll.

Boreal roars out again and then dives, hitting The Titan Mech against the ground.

 "30%. 20%." The computer said. "Warning, warning. Home integrity: 10%."

"I can count down to my own impending doom, thank you!!!" Lloyd yelled, resisting the urge not to smash the computer to shut it up.

Boreal growls at Lloyd and then attempts to crush the Titan Mech against the wall. But then, the frozen ice on the mech starts breaking, but Boreal just throws the mech into the wall and flies upwards, finally destroying The Titan Mech before Lloyd could make a move.

Lloyd coughs and climbs out, injured. Boreal then lands down and crawls toward Lloyd to freeze him, preparing a new victim. But then Akita runs up the dragon's spine and slashes his snout. Boreal roars in pain and quickly tosses her against the wall, injuring her.

"Akita!!!" Lloyd cried, but then winced in pain, falling to his knees.

Boreal crawls even closer to Lloyd and grabs him with his foot, and flies away...

Akita groaned, transforming back to her human form and watching helplessly as Lloyd was taken away...

Lloyd was taken to The Ice Castle and dropped by Boreal in front of two Ice Samurai and General Vex himself. Vex observes him and then chuckles evilly. "Pick him up." He commanded.

The Ice Samurai obey and pick Lloyd up, dragging him to The Ice Emperor's throne room.

"Behold, My Emperor! The Stranger In Green!" Vex announced.

The Ice Emperor broke the ice that froze around him and slowly walked down from his throne, looking at Lloyd.

Lloyd managed to regain his vision and looked at The Ice Emperor, and then his scepter...It looked familiar. Then, he saw The Scroll Of Forbidden Spinjitzu, a scroll that could corrupt the purest of things with its power, frozen underneath the ice encasing the scepter. He then looked at The Ice Emperor.

 "Zane?"