The ninja watch as Zane breaks his breath-holding record.
"Ten minutes! He just broke his own record. The guy's inhuman!" Kai exclaimed. Zane is shown on the ocean floor. He pets a fish before resurfacing.
The ninja cheer for him.
"Amazing!" Cole exclaimed, looking absolutely amazed.
"We're not worthy." Jay shakes his head.
"I broke the record?" Zane asks surfacing up.
"You destroyed it!" Lacey exclaimed with a grin.
"Okay, okay. Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking? We've been training for so long, I don't think we can get any better. Just think about all we've accomplished." Jay says, looking at his brothers.
A flashback ensues showing Kai running across several hot coals, then transitions to Jay spinning on a metal rod on one hand during a Lightning storm and finally shows Cole attempting to lift a barbell only to add on more weights before lifting it. It's also shown to have Nya on one end and Jay on the other each with a dumbbell and the latter with holding a chicken platter before returning to the present.
"The question should be raised. Perhaps we have reached our full potential?" Zane said looking at all of them.
Lacey only shakes her head them. When will they learn?
"Well, every morning I do five hundred push-ups." The Ice Ninja adds in.
Kai scoffs."Five hundred? Ha, try a thousand." He crosses his arms, a smirk on his face.
Lacey stares at them. Was their anyone else who could do that, after all, being a Ninja was almost an honor. Seeing as they weren't just Ninja and Elemental Masters, but also Spinjitzu Masters.
"Hahaha, I do a thousand and one." Jay laughs.
Cole rolls his eyes as they start walking towards Sensei's room. "What is this, amateur hour? Sounds like my warm-up. Sensei, what does True Potential look like if—" They see Master Wu putting away a katana.
Zane quickly bows with the others. :Our apologies, Sensei. We've interrupted you."
Lacey stays silent, looking up at her Sensei.
Wu sighs, looking tired almost. "I'm sorry if I've been distant lately. My mind has been elsewhere since Lloyd has gone missing. What can I help you with?" He looks at them.
Reasonable, he is Lloyd's Uncle, Lacey thought. He's obviously worried for his nephew.
Cole walks forward, speaking up. "Sensei, what if we've done enough training? What if we've reached our True Potential? What if we're ready?"
Wu hums, stroking his beard. "Hm. You might have reached peak physical condition, but you've yet to reach your inner potential. In each and every one of us, there are obstacles that hold us back. Only when you conquer that fear will your heart be free. Only then will you reach your True Potential. Only then will we have a fighting chance to stop the Serpentine from releasing the Great Devourer." He told them.
Yeah, they definitely reached peak physical condition. Lacey snorts, glancing at their bodies.
"There's more to the Great Devourer than you've led on, isn't there, Sensei?" Zane questioned.
Wu looks away. "I too have obstacles within my own heart. There's a story I've never told you. Long ago, when I was a young boy, Garmadon and I were more than brothers. We were the best of friends."
"Wait a minute." Jay interjects. "Now, I know you two were brothers, but really? The King of Cruelty, the Doer of Destruction, the Captain of Chaos, and you two were friends?"
Lacey gave him an annoyed look.
Wu sighs. "Please, no interruptions. You see, he did not always have a wicked heart. One day, I lost this very katana. Knowing our father would be mad, my brother told me to go retrieve it. But I refused. He told me not to put off what can be done today and went to get it himself. When my father found him, he was very ill, for he was bitten by a legendary snake that would grow forever as long as it consumes. A great evil had found its way into my brother's heart, for the snake's venom could turn the purest of things wicked."
Young Garmadon glared at the First Spinjitzu Master. "Leave it. Leave me alone. I don't need you. I hate you!" He screams, his warm brown eyes now red.
"The snake is the same one the Serpentine want to reawaken today." Wu tells them.
Lacey eyes him, looking saddened by the story. It seemed to her that Garmadon was forced to be evil, that he never had a choice. It wasn't his fault.
He was just a kid.
Young Garmadon screams. "Aah! It hurts! It's all Wu's fault." He glares at his younger brother with glowing red eyes.
Wu looks away, regret on his face. "It is the snake that took my brother away from me."
Kai frowns. "So the Great Devourer turned your brother into the Dark Lord?"
Wu breathes out. "It was all my fault." He than turns to them, looking serious. "You four have finished your training. You must now focus on stopping Pythor from collecting the Fangblades. But never lose focus on the obstacles that lie within each of your hearts that holds you back from true greatness. Unlock your True Potential."
"But how are we supposed to do that, Sensei?" Zane asks.
Wu smiles, nodding. "It is up to each of you to discover. Now I must go on a personal journey of my own."
Jay furrows his eyebrows. "Where are you going?"
"To a place you cannot follow." Wu states.
Cole shakes his head. "If you're going for Lloyd, the City of Ouroboros is filled with hundreds of Serpentine. You'll never do it alone."
"I am going to find someone who can be of aid. The Serpentine have united and grown stronger and we will need all the help we can get."
The ninja dropped him off at the top of a mountain.
Lacey watched him go sadly, she was gonna miss him.
............
Nya hangs up a missing Fangblade poster while Lacey stood next to her, holding a buch of flyers in her arms. She blows out air from her mouth, looking tired and exhausted.
This was boring and stupid. This wouldn't help them at all. Not to mention that Lloyd was still the Serpentine's captive. Poor him.
She wonders what he's going through. She misses him, in a way. He was her first real friend, someone her age.
"Oh, this is silly." Zane says with a sigh, shaking his head as he held a bunch of flyers in his arms.
"You have any better ideas?" Cole asks him with a deadpan look. He grabs another flyer and sticks it on the wall.
"Hey, maybe Sensei is gonna go get the Samurai for help." Jay says with a sigh, looking out in the distance. The blue clear sky is what awaited him.
"The Samurai? I'm sure she's-I mean, he's busy looking for the Fangblades as well." Kai said, eyeing them all nervously.
"Uh, is everything all right?" Cole asks, raising an eyebrow while Lacey snickers.
"Yeah, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" Kai stutters, laughing nervously.
"One hundred percent. We're not hiding anything." Nya smiles convincingly.
Lacey only shakes her head with a smile. Sensei Wu had gone off to search for something or someone that could help get Lloyd back. And Lacey was worried, if he wasn't here, how would the Ninja learn?
Who would control them if they did something stupid? Certainly not her. Oh wait, there's Nya. But it's not like they would listen to her.
"Hey, weirdo. You're making a mess of my store front. Yoo-hoo! You got a problem?" A man speaks up.
Lacey looks up to see that Zane had dropped his flyers, looking out in the distance.
"Maybe I should teach you a lesson on manners." The Man grits out, annoyed.
"I'm sorry, sir. Sometimes our friend is in another world." Kai tries to reassure him.
"He's littering all over the place."
"We'll pick it up. So sorry." Cole apologies.
Jay turns to him. "Zane, what's the deal?" Zane shows them the Falcon, pointing at it. "Ah! It's the Falcon! Oh, my gosh! Every time we follow it, it leads us to good fortune."
Lacey looks up, seeing the Falcon. She smiles brightly.
"Head back to the Bounty and wait till you hear from us." Kai orders his baby sister.
Nya frowns. "But where are you going? And why does Lacey get to come?"
"We're gonna follow the bird." Kai says. "Who knows, it could lead us to the first Fangblade. And don't worry, she has us." He smiles down at the blue eyes girl, she grins.
.....................
Kai, Jay, Cole and Lacey all run after Zane as he follows the Falcon. The other four stop after getting tired but Zane keeps following him, reaching Birchwood Forest.
The ninja finally caught up to Zane and enter the tree, Lacey following behind them as they all walk down the stairs. The Sorceress frowns when she sees Zane, feeling something was off.
Her legs were also aching, so it could be that. But fortunately for her, Jay had carried her half the way. So she wasn't that sore.
"Zane?" Kai calls out, stepping down from the stairs. He frowns, looking at the white ninja.
"Wow, would you look at this place?" Jay said looking at all the gadgets and inventions. "Zane, what's wrong?" He questions turning towards him.
"Are you hurt?" Kai asks, concerned.
Cole frowns. "You okay?"
Zane sighs and looks at the blueprint again.
Lacey frowns.
"Hey, what..." The Master of Earth starts before everyone screams when he opens his chest to reveal a control panel.
"You're a robot?" Kai asks baffled, staring at him with wide eyes.
Lacey's lips part, her chest tightening. Her best friend/brother was a robot? Like a real living robot? How was this possible? He didn't even look like one, he looked so normal.
"All this time, and I never knew." Zane says grimly, looking absolutely heartbroken.
Lacey looked at him sadly. He may have been weird, but this would just probably exclude him more.
"Uh, guess this explains why you're always acting so weird. Right? Hehe." Jay says with a nervous laugh.
"Jay..." Lacey says softly, the little 9 year old, sullen. She looked at Zane with a frown, her eyes sad.
"The reason I never had a sense of humor was because my funny switch wasn't on." Zane says before he turns it on. "Hello, my baby. Hello, my honey. Hello, my ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wire." He sings with a smirk, smug and full of humor.
Jay and Lacey laugh while Zane turns the funny switch off and sighs.
The Sorceress giggled, holding her hand towards her mouth while she snickers, her blue eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Uh, it just makes you more special. You're still the same Zane. Just more, uh, gears." Cole nods, clearing his throat.
"No matter what you're made of, you're still our brother." Kai states firmly, staring straight at him.
Zane looks at them all. "Really?" He questions with disbelief. Lacey nods firmly.
"In fact, I bet it even makes you an even better ninja." Cole smiled.
"Yeah, and how cool is it that I can honestly say 'My brother is a Nindroid?" Jay nods, a grin on his face.
"A Nindroid?" Zane and Lacey ask in confusion simultaneously.
"Now come on. Pythor is still out there looking for the first Fangblade, and we need you." Cole encouraged him.
"You'll have to go on without me. I just don't feel right." Zane says turning away from them, Lacey frowns as she stares at him.
The other three guys share looks, concerned for this best friend before they all walk out, Kai beckoning Lacey in front of him.
____
____
Lacey groans as she's pushed back by a tree a horn, she sits up, her vision blurry. Her eyes widen when she sees multiple of them coming at her and her friends.
Zane then walks up the stairs. "Hey, guys. Wait up!" He sees them being attacked by Treehorns. "Leave my friends alone! Ninja, go!" He said angrily when he sees them, his eyes starts glowing brighter, blue.
"What's gotten into Zane?" Cole asks in confusion.
"I don't know, but I like it." Kai nods
All of them sit up, "Ninja, go!" They turn and do Spinjitzu while Lacey backs away. The Treehorns start backing away.
"Are they regrouping? Who's that?" Jay mumbled, staring at the large tree horn.
Lacey shivers, the snow she fell in cold and freezing. Snow fell on her eyelashes, her lips blue and her form freezing.
"The queen. You will not hurt my friends. There is nothing that will hold me back. I know who I am." Zane calls out, his heart heavy as it turns light with no load. He felt, he knows, his true feelings. He starts to turn light blue, his eyes glowing as a while light surrounds him.
"What's happening to him? Was he programmed to do that?" Kai asks in confusion, helping Lacey up and warming her. She sighs, enjoying tye warmth from his hands.
The Sorceress stares up at Zane with wide eyes, wait a minute. He's found his true potential! When a person, or Elemental, finds the things holding him or her back, they unlock they're true power.
"I've never seen a robot do that." Jay says in awe, staring at him with wide eyes.
"You mean Nindroid." Cole corrected, staring at Zane with equal awe.
"Yeah, whatever." Jay nods.
"Zane's unlocked his True Potential." Cole spoke up when he realized what happened.
"Duh." Lacey mumbled.
Zane freezes the queen and falls, all the other treehorns either gone or dead. "What happened?" He mutters when comes too, the Ninja run towards him.
"That was awesome!" Jay yells, a large smile on his face.
"You should've seen yourself." Kai laughed.
"Heh, I've never seen anything like it." Cole exclaimed.
"This must be what Sensei meant by unlocking our hearts. I remember now. I remember everything. I remember my father and how he cared for me. I remember where I came from. And I feel stronger for knowing." Zane explains, his eyes shining with power.
"I'm so jealous. His powers are so cool." Cole chuckled.
Lacey giggled.
"We have our very own Nindroid." Jay yelps. Everyone cheers.
"Watch out, Pythor. We're coming to get you." Zane states firmly.
Lacey grins happily.
............