The ninja returned to New Ninjago City. Charlie was feeling confused. She loved Cole, but he was Nya's perfect match. Jay was upset with Cole, but he did nothing wrong. It seemed Nya was the center of this emotional cyclone.
The city seemed to be deserted. Cars were randomly parked in the streets, which were littered with garbage.
"What happened?" Kai asked.
"No power, that's what happened." Cole said.
Zane looked around. "Are we too late?" He walked forward, but stepped on a string, and several of the citizens appeared. They were dressed like they were in a Mad Max movie.
"Outsiders must answer to the Postman!" A man said. As he spoke, the Postman emerged in the same attire.
"Return...to... sender!"
Before they could attack, Cyrus Borg rolled out on his wheel chair. He smiled at the sight of the ninja. "Ah, you finally made it. Don't mind the savages. Since the power went out, everyone here has grown a bit boared. Their imagination knows no bounds." He looked behind them and saw P.I.X.A.L., a smile spreading across his face. "P.I.X.A.L., amazing! You're...powered."
"You need to stay in character, Borg." The Postman said. "This is no fun if we're not all committed."
Cyrus turned to look at him. "Oh, I'll have you committed if you don't leave us at once. Now shoo!" He turned back to his assistant as they left. "We have real problems to address. P.I.X.A.L., what's powering you?"
The fembot smiled. "Zane gave me half of his heart."
Cyrus turned to Zane. "Thank you, Zane. I am greatly indebted. Unfortunately, the hard drive was stolen with the digital imprint of the Overlord. You'll be unable to erase him with your Techno Blades until we find it."
"Aw, don't worry," Jay said. "We already had a little run in with the red-handed suspect. Or, should I say white-handed? He left behind a white scale. Get this, he's Serpentine."
Cole bent down and lifted a manhole cover. "Lucky for us, the last Serpentine were sealed within a tomb right under the city, so it's about time we pay them a little visit."
"Approach with caution." Cyrus warned. "I've also lost a few valuable prototypes. He may be armed and extremely dangerous."
"We know, and uh, ahem, just for the record, when those prototypes are made available to the public, could you let me know?" Jay asked. "They're just the coolest gadgets."
Nya climbed down the ladder, followed by Charlie, Cole, and Jay. P.I.X.A.L. moved to go in, but Cyrus stopped her. "Uh, P.I.X.A.L., where are you going? Now that my assistant has an unlimited power supply, there's an infinite amount of good to be done."
Zane nodded to her before jumping down. The ladder was rusty and slippery, and Cole took notice. "Watch your step, Charlie." He said. "We don't know the last time this ladder was used."
Charlie smiled to herself. Cole was doing his best to prove himself, even though she never asked for that. "That's very thoughtful of you, Cole." When they reached the bottom, the ground beneath their feet was wet.
"Let's keep our eyes peeled." Zane said. "Our mystery suspect could be anywhere down here."
"Serpentine." Kai said. "Never thought I'd see them again." As they walked down the tunnels, Cole stayed near Charlie protectively. Soon they came to a stone door.
Kai traced his hands over the carvings. "Tomb of the Stone Army. It's been sealed since the Serpentine were trapped here."
"It appears the seal as been opened." Zane noted as he pointed to a crack in the door.
A soft whistling sound filled the tunnel. Someone was coming. The ninja pounced on them. It was Skales, and he had a grocery cart full of bags.
"Aah!" He screamed. "Not you again!"
"Skales." Cole growled. "Something told me you'd be behind this. Search his bag."
"Aah! This is harassment. I've done nothing wrong!" The Hypnobrai protested.
"Except steal the hard drive." Jay said. "Where is it? What are you hiding?"
Kai and Charlie searched his thing. "He's hiding... groceries?" Kai asked.
Charlie pulled out a news paper. "And the latest issue of Ninjago Times?"
Skales shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for the crossword." They let him go and he brushed himself off. "Sorry, you've got the wrong snake."
"Daddy?" A voice sounded. The ninja turned to see a little Hypnobrai. He ran to Skales. "Are you okay?"
A pink Hypnobrai came out. "Stay inside, Skales Jr."
"Skales Jr?" Kai asked. "Uh, you have a son?"
Skales nodded. "We've been pretty busy since you left us. And we prefer to keep it that way."
"Is this about the Golden Master?" Skales Jr asked fearfully. "Is he going to hurt us?"
Skales comforted his son. "That is only a story, son. They were just leaving."
Charlie looked at them. "Golden Master? Is this about Lloyd?" What did the Serpentine know about her brother?
"Like you, we have our own legends. But I guess in ours, you are the bad guys." Skales explained.
"What legend?" Nya asked.
The pink Hypnobrai, Selma, looked at her husband. "They have a right to know. If we're going to shed a new skin, we must open our home to others."
Skales sighed. "Oh, all right. Let's go, surface dwellers. If you'd like to hear of the Curse of the Golden Master, follow me."
As heed them inside, Kai whispered to them, "I don't like Serpentine, but I don't like curses either. If this has anything to do with Lloyd, we need to know."
As they followed Skales, they saw a thriving civilization of Serpentine. "After a rather humbling scrap with those indestructible Stone Warriors," Skales said. "We've made amends with our warring past and found ways to better ourselves."
Kai was not impressed. "So you got a few bad snakes to go straight. Doesn't mean there's not one bad apple. Fangpyre have white scales, don't they?"
"A few." Skales admitted. "Is this about the missing hard drive?"
Wow. News really did travel fast. "This is about the Overlord." Cole said.
Skales nodded. "Ah, the Overlord. Glad we weren't around for that mess. No, we have no desire to meddle in the affairs above. As you can see–" He gestured around him. "We stick to our own. We only want what's best for the next generation." He looked at his son before pointed to a row of chairs. "Have a seat. You could learn a thing or two about your beloved Golden Master."
The ninja sat down, Charlie tapped her hands on her knees until the Venomari General, Acidicus, appeared.
"Hello, hatchlings, and camouflaged land dwellers." He said. "Do you seek the learning about the Curse of the Golden Master?"
Jay kicked his legs like a little kid. "Tell me! Tell me!"
Acidicus rolled his four eyes before continuing. "Then everyone come closer." He gestured tl the mural behind him as he spoke. "When the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago, deep in the ground, he created the Serpentine. Since the first dawn, our elders knew of the Curse of the Golden Master, when he who had the powers to equal the First Spinjitzu Master would usher in the last of the setting sun's. With no equal adversary, his power will go unmatched. His destructive rule will change the face of the world, and he will bit stop until every man, woman, and Serpentine are enslaved under his control."
The ninja looked at each other uneasily. "Is he referring to Lloyd?" Zane asked to which Kai shrugged. Charlie was wondering how this was a children's story.
"The Serpentine tried to warn the land dwellers," Acidicus continued. "But they wouldn't listen. They thought we were the enemy, though we were only trying to prevent the prophecy of Golden Master's terrible reign. After the Great Devourer failed to scare the unbelievers below ground, it is we who retreated beneath the soil, promising to never return, even now that the end is inevitable."
Charlie didn't know what to think. "I can't believe they think Lloyd could become the Golden Master."
"Well, he is the son of Lord Garmadon." Jay said, earning a smack in the back of the head from Cole. Charlie was the daughter of Lord Garmadon, and she was as evil as Cole was short.
"What I want to know is, if none of them took the hard drive, who else could it be?" Nya asked. As much as Charlie hated to admit it, the Samurai was right. They needed to find out who was aiding the Overlord. The Purple Ninja was pulled from her thoughts when a Serpentine cried, "We're under attack! Protect the young!"
Familiar black clad enemies surrounded the village. "Nindroids!" Cole growled.
"Ugh! These toasters never know when to quit." Jay grumbled.
Kai gripped his Techno Blade. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but...protect the Serpentine!"
"Ninja, go!" All but Zane spun to attack. The Ice Ninja couldn't do his Spinjitzu without P.I.X.A.L.
Charlie watched as Cryptor grabbed Skales Jr. "So you're the future of the fearless Serpentine?" The general laughed. Charlie spun on her heel and kicked him in the head.
"And you're about to be history." She growled.
"Let's get 'em, guys." Cole said as he tackled Crypor. The others followed suit, but the Black Nindroid threw them off. Zane helped Jay get up, but Cole lost his footing and fell on the Blue Ninja.
Meanwhile, the Nindroids had surrounded Nya. Jay took notice and stood up when Cole did. "Ugh. If we could just find out what powered them, it would be a whole lot easier." Jay saved Nya and knocked over the Nindroids.
A Nindroid swung at Cole, but the Black Ninja flipped over it, and saw a container on it's back holding an eel. He unplugged it, and the Nindroid deactivated. "Hey! They're powered by some sort of eel thing inside their backs!"
Finally knowing how to fight them, the ninja attacked. "Ninja, go!" All of the Nindroids fell, but as one was powering down, Charlie sensed evil.
The lone Nindroid grabbed Zane's foot. "Foolish Nindroid," It said in the Overlord's raspy voice. "You are helping the wrong side."
"The Overlord!" Zane growled. "You'll never succeed. Not if we have anything to say about it."
"I already have." The Overlord laughed. "You've unknowingly led me straight to the Golden Ninja. And this was merely a diversion to keep you busy." Zane unplugged the Nindroids power, stareing it down hatefully.
"The boy holds too much power." Skales said. "I fear the Curse of the Golden Master is upon us."
At that moment Charlie didn't care. The Overlord knew where her family was hidden, and it wouldn't be long before he would get her too. "We have to get to Lloyd before they do. Are you sure you won't help us?"
Skales shook his head. "I'm sorry. We made an oath never to return to the surface. Good luck." He turned to leave, but stopped. "Oh, one more thing. There's only one Serpentine whose had a history of being so fond of using Electro-Cobrai."
"Who?" They asked.
"Pythor."