Carefully, the Ninja, Nya, and Pixal try to find a way to ensure Y/n's safety for the long journey back to the city. Together, they build a sort of stretcher sort of system where Y/n would lay on a bed of some sorts that is on wheels while someone would pull it. Y/n rejected it at first, but with a lot of persuasion, she sat on it. As the group travels to Ninjago City, Y/n noticed something odd.
"Jay?" She asks, looking at the boy walking next to her.
His gaze drifts off, watching Cole and Nya in the distance. Y/n's gaze softens and She tugs his sleeve gently.
"Jay? What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Jays saddened gaze snaps and he turns to Y/n. "Oh. Uh... nothing."
"You know you can't lie to me." Y/n frowns and gestures for him to sit with her as Zane and Pixal pulled the stretcher thing.
Jay sits down, slouches, and then throws his hands to his face. Y/n rests her arm gently over his shoulders, giving him a small side hug, and that breaks him. He begins to cry and sob into his hands.
"You wanna talk about it?" Y/n asks softly.
Jay nods his head and Y/n turns to Zane.
"I think I'm good to walk now. Jay and I are going to be just behind you all, okay?" She asks.
"Are you sure? We don't want to weaken you any more." Kai frowns, hearing the conversation.
"Yeah. Im sure. As long as I'm not using my powers I'll be fine." Y/n sends him a reassuring smile and then hops off of the stretcher, bringing Jay with her.
As the group in front of the two gets further, Jay begins to calm down and open up. "I'm guessing you know about the Perfect Match machine, right?" He asks Y/n.
Instantly, Y/n understands what he's talking about. She lowers her head and watches her feet.
"It's Nya. When our group split up, Nya and I had gotten closer and closer. She even told me she really likes me!" Jay smiles through some tears and chuckles to himself. "I even started falling for her. She and I have a lot in common." His face falls and he glances at the sand beneath their feet.
Y/n smiles at him, but understands where this was going.
"Then, just before you arrived, Pixal told us that Cole is her perfect match. Nya knew the whole time. I thought he was my friend!" Tears begin to fall down his face.
"I'm so sorry Jay. When we went to the inventions room to test out the machines, the kids insisted we try the machine. Nya was shocked too."
"But Cole knew! He didn't tell me at all!" Jay sobs.
"I don't know why he would've done that Jay. I really don't."
"I guess I'm just frustrated. He and I used to be good friends. Now he has the girl I like."
"That's understandable. It's okay to be frustrated. I would too if I was you! What you should do now is focus yourself on other things. Hang out with Kai, Zane, or me. Don't focus your time on him, okay?" Y/n stops, grabs his hands, and looks at him with a small smile.
Jay looks up and meets her gaze and then smiles lightly. "You're right. I have other people to hang out with. I shouldn't worry about it."
The two smile and then walk off, talking about the adventures that happened after the group separated. Eventually they catch up to the rest of the group and Y/n makes her way to Cole while Jay sticks with Kai, Zane, and Pixal.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Y/n tugs on Coles sleeve gently.
"Uh, yeah sure. What about?" He asks.
"I mean, alone." She gestures towards the back of the group.
"I- Uh. Sure?" He smiles awkwardly and follows Y/n to the back of the group.
"Do you know what you did to Jay?" Y/n hisses furiously.
"Woah woah woah. What? What do you mean?" Cole throws his hands up defensively.
"With Nya. You know the two of you are best friends! Why did you have to betray his trust? You crushed him!" Y/n snaps.
"Okay. I'm lost. What happened?"
"The Perfect Match Machine!"
"Okay... what about it?"
"Did Nya ever tell you about it?"
Cole furrows his eyebrows and looks around. "Um well... she Uh..."
"Yes or no?" Y/n growls.
"Yes." Cole avoids all eye contact with the girl.
Y/n throws her arms up in the air and turns around, scoffing. "I can't believe you. You knew that Jay liked her! You knew! You didn't find a way to even tell him?!"
"Well, I-"
"Well what?" Y/n glares at him.
Cole stumbles for words but can't seem to find anything to say.
"I can't believe you. Okay? That was cruel, harsh, and mean! No friend does that!" She says before storming off towards the rest of the group, leaving Cole dumbfounded in the sand.
Eventually the group arrives in the city to find machines littered in piles throughout the streets, smoke coming from some. The whole place is a wreck.
"What happened?" Kai mumbles, reaching for Y/n's hand.
"No power, that's what happened." Cole speaks up for the first time in a while.
"Are we too late?" Zane asks, taking another step forwards.
As his foot hits the ground, people come rushing out from a nearby pile of destroyed machines. They leap out with pitchforks and other modern day objects, threatening to attack.
"Outsiders must answer to the Postman!" The familiar postman yells to the small group. "Return to sender!"
As the group slowly backs up and away, a recognizable man in a wheelchair rolls out. "Ah, you finally made it. Don't mind the savages. Since power went out, everyone here has grown a bit bored. Their imagination knows no bounds." He rolls his eyes, and they land on Pixal. "P.I.X.A.L., amazing! You're...powered."
"You need to stay in character, Borg. This is no fun if we're not all committed." The postman frowns from behind them.
"Oh, I'll have you committed if you don't all leave us at once. Now shoo!" He says, causing the civilians to leave. "We have real problems to address. P.I.X.A.L., what's powering you?"
"Zane gave me half of his heart."
"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." Borg frowns.
"Aw, don't worry, 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." Jay says happily.
Cole turns to a nearby cover for a manhole and moves it over, uncovering the hole. "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." He gestures towards the hole, avoiding eye contact with Jay.
"Approach with caution. I've also lost a few valuable prototypes. He may be armed and extremely dangerous." Borg says, hesitating at the groups' motions towards the manhole.
"We know, and uh, ahem, just for the record, when those prototypes are made available to the public, could you let me know? They're just the coolest gadgets." Jay says before getting ready to climb into the manhole.
Zane gets ready to go in, but steps back to allow Pixal to enter the manhole before him, causing Borg to interrupt.
"Uh, Pixal, where are you going? Now that my assistant has an unlimited power supply, there's an infinite amount of good to be done."
Pixal hesitates and looks to Zane who nods.
"As you wish, Mr. Borg." She states and moves towards Borg.
Y/n watches as Borg and Pixal step back to watch the group climb down the ladder into the manhole. For a minute, she hesitates. She feels a pull to stay above ground and help the people, but a pull on her shirt tugs her to join the rest. She looks down and sees Kai smiling up at her and gesturing to follow him. She smiles back and begins climbing down after him. Below her, she hears light chatter from Cole, Nya, and Jay.
"Watch your step, Nya. We don't know the last time this ladder was used." She hears Cole say.
"That's thoughtful of you, Cole." Nya thanks the boy.
"Hey! How about you watch where you're watching, Cole? Huh?" Jay snaps.
Y/n begins to feel a pinch of sorrow for the guy.
"Uh, aah!" Nya yells, but the guys above continue fighting. Y/n looks down and sees her suspended in the air on the ladder. "Uh, guys. A little help?" She panics.
"Oh, is that a threat? 'Cause coming from you, it sounds like some of your best material." Cole snaps back at Jay.
"Hahaha! There's a reason nobody liked you." Jay mocks.
With a thud, Nya lets go and hits the ground. "My knights in shining armor." She sighs, bothered by the bickering boys.
"Guys, pay attention!" Y/n looks down and groans.
She's had enough with the bickering.
"It was his fault!" They hop down and point at each other.
Y/n rolls her eyes and leaps off the ladder. With a flick of her wrist, she forms a light orb in her hand. Brushing past the two bickering boys, she sighs and Jay follows her.
"Let's keep our eyes peeled. Our mystery suspect could be anywhere down here." Zane says, getting everyone back on task.
Something to the side of the wall catches Y/n's eye. "What's that?"
"It's the sign of Serpentine. Never thought I'd see them again." Kai sighs, watching her gaze.
The group silently walks through the cave. Y/n stands between Cole and Jay to prevent the fighting. Eventually they walk up to a giant cave and Y/n tenses up. She feels a hand gently grab hers and she turns to see Jay smiling at her. She smiles back and squeezes his hand gently.
"The Tomb of the Stone Army. It's been sealed since the Serpentine were trapped here." Kai states, seeing Y/n's tense stature
"It appears the seal has been opened." Zane remarks, leaning forwards.
Suddenly, a whistling fills the room.
"Guys is that you?" Y/n asks nervously.
Before anyone else could respond, a voice calls out. "Aah! Not you again!"
"Skales. Something told me you'd be behind this. Search his bag." Cole hisses and leaps over, restraining the man
"Aah! This is harassment. I've done nothing wrong." The man is pulled into the light to reveal a snake like stature.
"Except steal the hard drive. Where is it? What are you hiding?" Jay snaps, but Y/n pulls him back.
Kai grabs the Snake Man's bag and searches it. His eyes go wide as he looks. "He's hiding...groceries? And the latest issue of Ninjago Times."
Cole releases Skales with a huff.
"What can I say? I'm a sucker for the crossword. Sorry, you've got the wrong snake." Scales sniffs.
As he finishes, a small child wanders into the area, catching Y/n's eye.
"Daddy? Are you okay?" The child asks, revealing that, he too, has a snake like stature.
"Stay inside, Skales Jr." A female snake person says, pulling the child back.
"Skales Jr.? Uh, you have a son?" Kai asks, taken aback by the events at hand.
"We've been busy since you left us. And we prefer to keep it that way." Skales says, slithering towards his family.
"Is this about the Golden Master? Is he going to hurt us?" The child asks.
"That is only a story, son. They were just leaving." Skales calms the boy.
Zane snaps his head in the snakes' direction. "Golden Master? Is this about Lloyd?"
Skales sighs and replies, "Like you, we have our own legends. But I guess in ours, you are the bad guys."
"What legend?" Y/n asks.
The female snake turns to Skales and whispers, "They have a right to know. If we're going to shed a new skin, we must open our home to others."
With a bit of hesitation, and Skales Jr slithering closer to Y/n's hand, examining it, Skales caves in. "Oh, all right. Let's go, surface dwellers. If you'd like to hear of the Curse of the Golden Master, follow me."
"I don't like Serpentine, but I don't like curses either. If this has anything to do with Lloyd, we need to know." Kai says.
"Now that I will do that, I want to know... Who are you?" The snake turns to Y/n and looks at her puzzled.
Y/n looks back with the same expression and then states, "I'm Y/n. The Multielemental master."
"So, they're training more of you?" He says, astonished.
"Not exactly. I'm pretty sure I'm the last one." Y/n shrugs.
Skales examines her hand and watches the ball of light with amazement. He looks back and Y/n and something in his expression changes. His facial features soften and he smiles back. He shows enthusiasm in his face.
"Alright. Right this way." Skales smiles before turning around and opening a tavern of light to the group.
As Y/n glances around, she notices the beauty of the underground tavern and her jaw drops in awe. She smiles to herself and takes in the nature, eventually loosening her grasp on Jay's hand.
Skales, noticing Y/n's astonishment smiles and states, "After a rather humbling scrap with those indestructible Stone Warriors, we've made amends with our warring past and found ways to help better ourselves."
The group turns around and hears nearby Serpentine stating things like, "You're not thugs, you give hugs," "Try again. It will be our pleasure," and so on. Y/n smiles at the idea of the Serpentine's reform and watches everyone talk.
Kai, on the other hand, did not seem so intrigued. "So you got a few snakes to go straight. Doesn't mean there's not one bad apple. Fangpyre have white scales, don't they?"
"A few. Is this about the missing hard drive?" Skales inquires.
"This is about the Overlord." Cole states, freezing Skales' stature.
"Ah, the Overlord."Skales says coldly. "Glad we weren't around for that mess. No, we have no desire to meddle in the affairs above. As you can see, we stick to our own. We only want what's best for the next generation." He turns to a nearby group of children and gestures for the group to the children. "Have a seat. You could learn a thing or two about your beloved Golden Master."
Y/n makes her way to the ground with the other children while the rest of the group stands and watches.
"Hello, hatchlings, and camouflaged land dwellers. Do you seek to learn about the Curse of the Golden Master?" An elder Serpentine asks.
Jay immediately becomes excited and plops down next to Y/n. "Tell me! Tell me!"
The snake looks over to the humans in disgust, and then with enthusiasm, before continuing. "Then everyone come closer. 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 equal to the First Spinjitzu Master would rise and usher in the last of the setting suns. With no equal adversary, his power will go unmatched. His destructive rule will change the face of the world, and he will not stop until every man, woman, and Serpentine are enslaved under his control.
Y/n leans closer, wanting to learn even more about her friend. She watches closely and listens intently as the elder snake continues
"The Serpentine tried to warn the land dwellers, but they wouldn't listen. They thought we were the enemy, though we were only trying to prevent the prophecy of the 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."
Y/n's eyes widen at the difference of story the Serpentines' is than that of the Ninja. She frowns, not entirely understanding.
"I can't believe they think Lloyd could become the Golden Master." Kai scoffs at the end of the story, quietly.
"Well, he is the son of Lord Garmadon." Jay shrugs.
Skales seemed to have noticed Y/n's confusion and slithers over to her. "Is something wrong child?"
"No, I just don't get it..." Y/n sits and thinks before continuing. "From what I've heard, the Serpentine were falsely led. Don't take this the hard way, you all seem like a great species, but why would you keep this from your young?"
"I understand. We need to protect the young. If we tell them how we used to be, some may rise up and continue doing what we had done. We need to change that." Skales gestures towards his son running around with other children.
"I see. You are smart for doing that." Y/n smiles and watches as the kids play. "Thank you for the clarification. I just ask one last thing. Why do you make Lloyd seem like the bad guy?"
"We need to find someone who was the reason we were sent here. Who else than the one who started the whole uprising?" Skales chuckles to himself.
"How about the overlord? He seems to be doing a lot of bad, both then and now." Y/n laughs.
Before Skales could reply, a female voice shrieks, "We're under attack! Protect the young!"
Skales looks up and races towards the young, helping them escape the oncoming panic. As Y/n follows the sound, she sees a flash of silver metal, and then a Nindroid.
"Nindroids!" Cole yells, and Y/n teleports to the group.
She begins to see stars, but she shakes her head, trying to fight against the droids.
"Ugh! These toasters never know when to quit." Jay scoffs.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but... protect the Serpentine!" Kai says before leading the group to fight the Nindroids.
Y/n begins to rush towards the fight, but sees Zane struggling. "If only I could use Spinjitzu. Without Pixal, my technique is barely adequate."
Y/n puts a comforting hand on his shoulder before racing off. As she kicks down a couple of droids, she hears a shriek, saying "Junior? Junior!" Y/n's attention peaks and she looks around to see Skales Junior surrounded by a group of Nindroids.
"Mommy! Aah!" The boy cries in fear before Cryptor trips him.
"So you're the future of the fearless Serpentine?" He begins to laugh, but Y/n flies in and kicks him off of the child.
"Back off. Pick on someone your own size!" She yells before forming smoke in his direction and taking the child to safety, leaving the Ninja to fight off the droids.
"Are you going to be okay?" The girl bends over to the childs level and smiles.
"Yes. Thank you miss!" The kid smiles back.
"Alright, now head on over to your family. Stay safe." She pushes him gently in the direction of Skales before racing off to the rest of the group.
"Ugh. If we could figure out what powered them, this would all be a whole lot easier." Jay states, blocking Nya from a nearby blow of another droid.
Nya looks up in his arms and her face turns red, causing Jay to laugh nervously. Nearby, Cole pulls a cord from the back of one of the droids and it shuts down. "Hey! They're powered by some sort of eel thing inside their backs!"
Y/n looks over to all the other droids and pulls one off of their backs, shutting off another. "He's right! Take them off!" She yells, leading the others to follow.
They end up narrowing the group of droids down to one, but this one is different. It has overlord written all over it.
"Foolish Nindroid, you are helping the wrong side." The droid hisses at Zane.
"The Overlord! You'll never succeed. Not if we have anything to say about it." Zane defends.
"I already have." The overlord begins to cackle. "You've unknowingly led me straight to the Golden Ninja and the girl. And this was merely a diversion to keep you busy. From one of the two!" The group looks to Y/n with fear as the Overlord laughs, but Zane unpowers him.
Skales slithers up to the group once all the droids have collapsed to the grounds. "The boy and Y/n hold too much power. I fear the Curse of the Golden Master is upon us."
"The dawn of the end of times is near." The elder snake shudders.
"We have to get to Lloyd before they do, and make sure nothing happens to Y/n. Are you sure you won't help us?" Nya turns to the elders.
Skales looks to Y/n with sorrow and states, "I'm sorry. We made an oath never to return to the surface, and the overlord already knows of this place. We cannot help. Good luck." Skales begins to turn around, but stops. "Oh, one more thing. There's only one Serpentine whose had a history of being so fond of using Electrocobrai."
"Who?" The group says in unison.