(Wu and Misako are taking a stroll.)
Wu: (Sighs.) Oh, Misako. All the time we have known each other...
Misako: Someone wise once said "We do not go forward by looking back."
Wu: When did I say that?
Misako: Never. I did. (They both share a laugh but hear screaming. The Vermillion Army and the Time Twins approach them.)
Wu: Stay by my side, Misako. Misako? (He looks next to him but Misako disintegrates.)
(Wu wakes up, revealing it to be a dream.)
Wu: Misako! At my side.
Misako: Of course. As I always will be. And as you always will be for me. What is it, Wu?
Wu: I haven't told anyone, but when I fought Acronix at the monastery, something...happened. Something bad.
(Nya looks after Zane in the Samurai X Cave.)
Nya: This is bad. I told everyone to go back to the Airjitzu Temple while I got you back online and still nothing. All I got left is trying a total system reboot. (Zane twitches and stands up.)
Zane: Nya!
Nya: Oh, I'm so glad you're—
Zane: (He walks away from his table.) That potato was a flange 41-823. A narwhal horn is too red as weather is greater than pudding. Fifty sheet auto doc feeder!
Nya: (She brings Zane back to the table.) Okay, Zane. Take it easy. That's it.
Zane: Banana curtain nine.
Nya: Oh, come on! I've tried everything. What is going on in there?
P.I.X.A.L.: What is going on is I'm trying to unscramble Zane's neural pathways so we can go rescue Cyrus Borg. And you haven't tried everything. You need to realign Zane's neural inputs. Can you hear me? Hello—
Zane: Hello? Hot dog rainy day in seven.
Nya: Okay, maybe what you need is...
P.I.X.A.L.: Don't say a new binary power core.
Nya: ...a new binary power core! I'll be right back.
P.I.X.A.L.: Wait, no! Don't leave!
Zane: Plate! Show! Clipboard!
(Wu finishes explaining his fight.)
Wu: And at the monastery, Acronix hit me with what he called the "Time Punch." Now I'm rapidly aging. I would estimate one day every hour. The effect is accelerating and will continue to do so until—
Lloyd: (In another room) Master Wu?
Wu: Say nothing. The ninja must not be distracted at this crucial time.
Misako: They might be able to help you.
Lloyd: (Knocks.) May I enter?
Wu: My fate is inevitable, Misako. Like the sun rising in the east, like fall turning into winter...
Misako: Wu—
Lloyd: (Coming in) Master Wu?
Wu: (He gasps and whispers.) You must keep my secret. (Misako nods.)
Lloyd: How is he?
Misako: Still recovering.
Wu: So little time, so many lessons! Fight with your back to the sun. Eight cups of water a day is a myth. You should have been there when I fought Acronix. But I-I—
Lloyd: He's right. I should have been at his side. I failed my Master. I will not make that mistake again.
(Kai fights sparring bots while Jay and Cole train together.)
Cole: Zane is down. Folks disappearing all over town, and we can't do a thing to help! If we just knew why Acronix and Krux are taking people
Jay: You know, my theory—
Cole: For the last time, they are not hostages.
Jay: How can you be sure?
Cole: No ransom note.
Jay: Maybe they're gonna hypnotize them into being an army?
Cole: Krux and Acronix already have an army. Of Samurai snakes.
Jay: Well, you know my other theories—
Cole: Do not say alien abductions again, or dimensional rifts, or elven magic portals! (He uses his Earth Punch on Jay, hurling him in the air.) Sorry. It's just...I'm tired of speculating. We need to take action! Right, Kai? Kai? You okay? You haven't been the same since you squared off against Krux. Did...did he do something?
Kai: More like said something. No, Nothing. I'm fine.
Cole: Good, 'cause I was just saying it's time to stop guessing and to start fighting!
Kai: So you're saying we capture one of those snake guys and bring them back here for Wu to question?
Cole: I just want to fight somebody. But okay, we could do that too.
Lloyd: That plan won't work.
Kai: Why not?
Lloyd: Because Master Wu still hasn't recovered from his battle with Acronix. He rambles. He passes out. I think he's a lot more hurt than he lets on.
Kai: Oh, great! All this and now we have no leader, either?
Lloyd: Uh, that's not exactly true. Ahem! With Wu out of commission, the, um...logical successor would be, uh...
Cole: The Green Ninja.
Lloyd: Correct.
Cole: Uh, Master Lloyd?
Kai: "Temporary Master Lloyd," you mean.
Jay: "...in Training."
Cole: Okay, Temporary Master Lloyd in Training, we mere ninja await your words of wisdom. Which I assume involve kicking some butt till we get a few answers. Right? (The ninja cheer and run past him.)
Lloyd: Wrong. Too random. We need a plan.
Kai: We have one. Go kick some butt.
Lloyd: Really? Whose butt? Where?
Kai: We'll work it out down there.
Lloyd: No. We'll work it out here first. That's what Wu would do. Come on!
Kai: Oh, yay, I just love sitting around and talking instead of doing.
Cole: Cut him some slack, guys. He's doing the best he can.
(Meanwhile, all the metal in Ninjago are disappearing.)
Garbage Man: Huh? (He tries to look for his trash can lid. He turns around and sees the trash can is gone.) Aw, come on. Jimmy! You ain't gonna believe—(His truck disappears.) Jimmy?
(A citizen calls another person on his phone.)
Man #1: Hey, hey! Just calling to tell you that I'm walking to the coffee shop now! (It is revealed they are walking next to each other.)
Man #2: Cool! I'll see you there! (The cell tower is gone.)
Man #1: Hello? Hello? Hm, no bars. What's going on?
Man #2: Can you hear me now? Now? Aah!
Man #1: The cell tower is down! (Everyone screams.)
(Dareth looks at his trophy shelf, but there aren't any trophies.)
Dareth: Aah! My trophies! Why would someone steal them? Why? Why!?
(Raggmunk and Blunck watches over Ninjago.)
Raggmunk: Yes! Soon we will have all the metal we need courtesy of the Vermillion warriors.
Blunck: Really?
Raggmunk: What?
Blunck: All the metal? Like, that's it? Finito?
Raggmunk: Yeah, why?
Blunck: Nothing. Nothing. It's...fine. Acronix and Krux signed off on it?
Raggmunk: Oh, who cares? Now let me concentrate! Increase Operation Heavy Metal!
Blunck: Really? That's the name you're—
Raggmunk: Oh, it doesn't matter!
(Dareth screams as he made his way to Ronin's shop.)
Dareth: Someone stole my trophies!
Ronin: I have an alibi! Wait. Why would anyone steal your fake trophies?
Dareth: I know! They were irreplaceable. Which is why I'm here to buy replacements.
Ronin: You want world championships this time or just intercontinental?
Dareth: Uh, um, let's mix and match.
Ronin: One sec. (He went to get a trophy but saw two Vermillion rummaging in his shop.)
Dareth: Uh, they're not with me.
Ronin: Fellas, we have a very strict store policy against shoplifting. (Dareth sees more Vermillion outside.)
Dareth: Hey, those are my trophies! Give them back! (He tries to take them, but Ronin used his Salvage M.E.C. and escaped with him.)
(Lloyd tries to explain his plan, but was Jay kept interrupting him.)
Lloyd: So I think we can safely rule out—(Jay slurps his drink but stops when Lloyd turns around) these places as hiding spots for the missing people. (He does it again.) These are too small. These are to public. And these are too obvious. (Jay slurps his drink again.)
Jay: Or are they so obvious that they're actually the perfect hiding spot?
Lloyd: Hm. Interesting. (Jay slurps again.)
Cole: What are you doing?
Jay: (Whispering) I'm bored. So I'm messing with him.
Kai: But now Lloyd's starting over! He's gonna take even longer. (Jay sighs and Ronin and Dareth comes in.)
Ronin: Sorry to interrupt what looks to be the most boring party game ever, but the city's under attack down there.
Jay, Cole, and Kai: Yes!
Jay: Oh, I mean, that's horrible.
Kai: Terrible.
Cole: The worst.
Ronin: There's a bunch of Samurai and snakes stealing every piece of metal they can find.
Dareth: They took my trophies. My trophies!
Cole: Any sign of Krux or Acronix?
Ronin: Who?
Cole: Doesn't matter. Let's go!
Lloyd: W-wait. This doesn't make sense. Why are they after metal?
Jay: We can ask as we pummel them.
Lloyd: No. It might be a diversion to draw us away from the Temple so they can finish off Master Wu.
Cole: We can't just ignore the damage they're doing.
Dareth: Nor that they have my trophies.
Lloyd: I'm not leaving Master Wu unprotected again.
Kai: But we're going.
Lloyd: I'm ordering you to stay.
Kai: And we're ignoring that order.
Ronin: So...
Lloyd: Just go. (Everyone leaves.) Nya will have my back. (He tries to call her, but the cell tower is still down.)
Nya: Okay, Zane, I—(She sees him surrounded by Vermillion.) Zane!
Zane: Nineteen! Gargle my pudding! My pudding!
Nya: Get off my friend! C'mon, Zane. Let's do this!
Zane: Executive cucumber! (He clumsily attacks them.)
Nya: Or...maybe you should sit this one out.
Zane: Fiber zinc taco! Fiber zinc taco!
P.I.X.A.L.: Brace yourself, Zane. I'm rerouting all existing power to your chest. In three, two, one.
Nya: Aw, total electrical overload! Nice move, buddy. I knew you were in there somewhere! Of course, now I have to reboot you again, but that—(She sees her Samurai gear is gone.) They stole my Samurai X Gear! (Groans.) I hate not having tines on the ride, but the USB port is the only way to power you back up. Those snakes stole from the wrong girl.
(The Vermillion travel in the sewers.)
Acronix: All these tunnels under the city look the same, huh? Pretty confused, I'll bet.
Krux: It's a secret lair. It's supposed to be hard to find.
Acronix: Yeah, but not for us.
Krux: I'll figure it out in a second.
Acronix: Oh, get with the time, brother. My new BorgWatch has built-in GPS, the, uh...
Krux: What's wrong?
Acronix: Um...nothing. Just respecting your feelings about tradition and—
Krux: (He looks at his BorgWatch.) No service. That's why I don't get with the times. The old ways are still superior. Follow me!
Acronix: I hope things are going this well topside.
(Raggmunk and Blunck watches as more metal are being stolen.)
Raggmunk: Yes! Operation Heavy Metal's so good the ninja don't even know what's up. Nothing will stop us! (They see the ninja.)
Blunck: Way to jinx it.
Jay: Last one up is a rotten ninja.
Kai: Clear off as many snakes as you can!
Dareth: Wow! Total snake invasion!
Kai: (He defeats some snakes.) Why am I so good? It's a curse, really. (The snakes regenerated.) Oh, great. (He falls, but Nya catches him.) Nya, what are you doing here?
Nya: I came to warn you about the metal-stealing snakes, but it looks like you already know.
Kai: How's Zane?
Nya: He's, uh...
Zane: Avocados are not vegetables! Fifty three, eleven!
Nya: Uh, we're still working out some kinks. (The Vermillion regenerated into an even larger snake.)
Zane: Spleen sauce, cow box!
Ronin: That's right, bring it on. Oh, boy. Feel free to jump in, Dareth.
Dareth: Sorry. My back's totally jacked again.
Ronin: These guys took your trophies.
Dareth: Brown Ninja vengeance! (He fights them and kicks Ronin.)
Ronin: Aah, my leg! I think you broke it!
Dareth: Gotta get more snakes!
Kai: Nya, where you going?
Nya: Come on!
Kai: Jay, Cole, let's go!
Jay: So, does anyone have a plan?
Nya: Welcome to Ninjago!
Blunck: No! They failed! And we haven't collected nearly enough metal yet.
Machia: No, you haven't.
Raggmunk: Uh, was she here the whole time?
Machia: Your plan didn't just have a stupid name. It was also a stupid idea. So now, it's my turn. Commence with Operation Blackout. That should buy the time you'll need to collect more metal. Assuming you don't mess that up as you did this.
Blunck: Operation Blackout. Good name.
(Lloyd paces around.)
Misako: You're worried?
Lloyd: Yes. Master Wu looks pale.
Misako: No. I mean you are worried about Cole, Jay, and Kai.
Lloyd: No, I'm mad at them. I gave them an order and they disobeyed me.
Misako: So not worried at all?
Lloyd: Okay, fine. But you heard Master Wu. He wished I was there for him when he fought Acronix. I won't leave and disappoint him again.
Wu: You did not disappoint me, Lloyd.
Lloyd: Oh, Master!
Wu: When I said I wished you were there, I was speaking of you, the team. If I had brought the entire group, perhaps things would be different. You still appear concerned. What is it?
Lloyd: My first time in charge and I blew it. The guys ignored my orders. Master, what do I do now? I'm no leader. All I do is make mistakes. (Wu falls asleep.)
Misako: May I tell you a secret? Master Wu makes mistakes too. A lot of them. The true measure of a leader is not whether he makes mistakes. It is whether he learns from them.
Lloyd: Wu's mistake was going in alone. So was mine. I'm supposed to be fighting alongside my friends.
Misako: Yes. Even if they aren't ready to follow you yet, they will be.
Lloyd: But I don't know where they are. (The power goes out.) Okay, that's a pretty big clue. Thanks, Mom. (He leaves.)
Misako: You can stop pretending now.
Wu: (He wakes up.) Lloyd must learn to make his own decisions. He will be a real Master soon enough. And by the way, I do not make a lot of mistakes.
Misako: No. Just one big one.
(Lloyd met up with the ninja.)
Lloyd: What took you so long?
Jay: We were—Hey, how'd you know those whatever-they-ares would be coming here?
Lloyd: When all the power went out, I assumed they must be at the source.
Kai: You figured that out yourself? Nice. We had to follow them.
Lloyd: I should have been following them with you guys from the beginning. I'm sorry.
Jay: Yeah, yeah, so are we. So what's the plan, Temporary Master Lloyd?
Kai: In training.
Lloyd: Hehe. We go in there and kick some snake butt. Or whatever passes for a snake's butt. Like it?
Jay: I love it!
Cole: Yeah. That's a great plan.
Zane: The treadmill was invented in 1818.
Jay: All right, snakes, time to—where are they? The place looks empty.
Lloyd: Zane, you detecting any snakes?
Zane: Cranberries. Corkscrew. Squab.
Nya: Multiple contacts. Six meters in. Uh, after a while, you start to pick up on the meaning. (They see the Vermillion.)
Jay: That's a bunch of Office Warriors! Literally!
Lloyd: Okay, let's do this! All of us!
Nya: All of us? (She points to Zane walking into a wall.)
Lloyd: Oh, right. Zane, stay here.
Zane: Newt.
Ninja: Ninja, go!
Cole: You don't look so big. And now you do.
Nya: A desk is no good without a chair. Have a seat! Aw, come on!
Lloyd: I hate not having a full team. We could really use Zane's help.
Nya: Right now he basically has one move: short himself out with a massive blast of power. It creates a magnetic field that yanks off their armor.
Lloyd: Those turbines. They're basically big rotating electromagnets, right?
Nya: Yeah. Basically.
Lloyd: So if Zane were to hook in directly and super charge one of them, all this metal armor the snakes have—
Nya: I'm on it. Zane, I need you!
Zane: Hog knock!
Lloyd: We have to buy Nya and Zane a little time!
Jay: Ninja, go!
Nya: Got it! Now, Zane. Now!
Zane: Gargle my pudding! Gargle my pudding!
Nya: We need more juice!
Lloyd: Jay!
Jay: On it! (It attracted all the armor.)
Kai: Boo! (The snakes slither away.) That's right. Slither away! Hahaha! Way to go, Nya!
Nya: It was Lloyd's plan.
Jay: Way to go, Master Lloyd!
Lloyd: Yeah, you forgot the "temporary in training" part.
Jay: I know. Don't let it go to your head.
Cole: Uh, not to ruin the feel-goods, but maybe we should save the celebrating for after we get the power and Zane back on?
Nya: One more switch and...(The power goes back on.)
Jay: Well, we know civilization has been restored. The TV is working again.
Zane: Hello, everyone. What have I missed?
Jay: Oh, not much. Missing people and snakes trying to steal your metal skin. But we kicked their butts, if in fact they have butts. It's still an open question. But for now it's game over.
Kai: Uh, I'm not so sure about that.
Gayle: (On TV) Snakes are attacking Monster Amusement Park. They appear to be after anything metal that isn't nailed down, including the nails themselves!
Lloyd: Ninja, we're leaving.
Kai: Nya, when this is all over, there's something I need to tell you. Something important.
Nya: Okay, big brother.
Cole: An amusement park, really? Do these guys hate fun?
Lloyd: Nah. More like they love metal.
Zane: Agreed. I cannot think of a better place to steal it from. I'm sure you concur, P.I.X.A.L.. P.I.X.A.L.?
Nya: Now let's roll. I've got a Samurai X suit to get back.
Jay: Wait! (They already left.) There is a better place. A scrapyard. Like the one that belongs...to my parents! (He drives toward his parents' junkyard.)
(End of the episode. For more information, click here.)