Nalia can't handle losing more people.
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*The ninjas watch as Zane breaks his breath-holding record.*
"Ten minutes! He just broke his own record. The guy's inhuman!" said Kai.
Zane is on the ocean floor. He pets a fish before resurfacing, and the ninjas cheer for him.
"Amazing!" cheered Cole.
"We're not worthy." said Jay, getting down on his knees and began bowing.
"I broke the record?" Zane asked.
"You destroyed it!" said Kai.
"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." said Jay.
"Yeah, even Nalia has put in a lot more effort and focus on training than normally," said Kai.
A flashback ensues, showing Kai running across several hot coals, then transitions to Jay spinning on a metal rod with one hand during a lightning storm. Then, it transitions to Cole attempting to lift a barbell, only to add 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 holding a chicken platter, and finally shows Nalia protecting the ship from a sandstorm while balancing on one foot on the tip of her staff.
Nalia was sitting to the side, listening to the ninjas talking. While writing in her diary.
"I'm still not used to seeing her without glasses on," Jay whispered as they all glanced at her.
"The question should be raised. Perhaps we have reached our full potential?" Zane questioned. They head inside the Destiny's Bounty, with Nalia following them, to find Wu. "Well, every morning, I do five hundred push-ups."
"Five hundred? Ha, try a thousand." said Kai.
"Hahaha, I do a thousand and one." said Jay.
"I do a thousand and five hundred." Nalia grew a slight smirk on her face.
"What is this, amateur hour? Sounds like my warm-up. Sensei, what does True Potential look like if—" said Cole, as they all walked into Wu's room. But stops as they see Master Wu putting away a katana.
"Our apologies, Sensei. We've interrupted you." said Zane.
Wu sighs. "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?"
A sad look grew on Nalia's face at the mention of Lloyd, but she had decided that she would get him back. She wouldn't lose him like the others until he was saved. She had stopped lazing around and went on to put all her focus into training.
"Sensei, what if we've done enough training? What if we've reached our True Potential? What if we're ready?" Cole asked.
"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." Wu explained.
"There's more to the Great Devourer than you've led on, isn't there, Sensei?" Zane questioned.
"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." Started Wu.
"Wait a minute. 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?" Jay questioned.
Hearing this caught Nalia's interest. So she sat down to get comfortable and listen in.
"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." Wu continued.
"Oh, yeah, if the old man was still alive the day Morro cut my wooden sword in half. He would have gotten so mad at me for not being able to stop it from happening." Nalia thought to herself, with a small smile.
"The snake is the same one the Serpentine want to reawaken today. It is the snake that took my brother away from me." Wu finished.
"So I was right, the feeling I got from Lord Garmadon back then. The venom might have turned him evil, but I could still feel the goodness in him. So maybe there is a way to save him too." Nalia thought.
"So the Great Devourer turned your brother into the Dark Lord?" Kai asked.
"It was all my fault. You five 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." said Wu.
"But how are we supposed to do that, Sensei?" Zane asked.
"It is up to each of you to discover. Now I must go on a personal journey of my own." said Wu.
"Where are you going?" Jay asked.
"To a place you cannot follow." said Wu.
"If you're going for Lloyd, the City of Ouroboros is filled with hundreds of Serpentine. You'll never do it alone." said Cole.
"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." said Wu.
A concerned look grew on Nalia's face. "You are coming back, right?" She wasn't sure how she would take it if she lost another person right after losing Lloyd.
Wu gave her a gentle smile. "Of course, Nalia. I'll return with some help." He said, patting her head.
Nalia's concern slowly went away, and she knew he would return to them, so a small smile grew on her face.
*The ninjas dropped him off at the top of a mountain.*
Nalia went to the training room and put away her diary and notebook. She turned her attention to the dummies, pulling her scarf for comfort. Before getting into position, she began punching and kicking the dummies, even using her staff for extra movement. She went on to train for hours until there was a knock on the door.
"Nalia, are you in there?" Nya asked. She gave it a minute, but she didn't hear any movement. She grew slightly worried and opened the door to see Nalia lying on the floor, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Along the floor lay two broken-down dummies. One of them seemed to have a few bite marks on it.
"Damn, Nalia, you went all out on these poor dummies," said Nya, picking up one of the dummies and began putting them away. When she was finished putting away the dummies, she walked over to Nalia, slowly helping her up. "Me, and the boys are heading out later to hang up some missing Fangblade posters. I was going to ask if you wanted to join. But it seems like you might be out of energy for that."
Taking a deep breath, Nalia looked up at Nya, shaking her head. "I wanna help."
"Nalia, you've gotta find time to rest. Since we lost Lloyd, you've been putting too much stress on yourself. And it would be best if you didn't do that; you are still a kid, after all." said Nya, worried about her.
Nalia began feeling tears forming in her eyes, but she tried wiping them again. "But Lloyd is my first and best friend I've ever made. I can't lose him like those I've already lost." Tears were running down her face, and she couldn't hold back from crying anymore as she wrapped her arms around Nya, hugging her. "I can't lose him too; I wanna save him. And I can't do that if I'm weak; I need to do something besides sitting around and doing nothing."
Nya wrapped her arms around Nalia, pulling her into a hug. "Nalia, being weak has nothing to do with it, and you shouldn't burden yourself with this alone. Don't forget that you still have us, and we will always be here to help you, no matter what. You are our little sister, and that means we will always be there for you." said Nya, as she was trying to comfort her.
Nalia cried into Nya's shoulder for a while until she calmed down and fell asleep in Nya's arms because she was exhausted.
"Poor Nalia, her childhood must have been harsh on her." Nya picked up Nalia, along with her other stuff, and carried her to their room so she could get some good rest.
*An hour later.*
Nalia slowly woke up from her sleep, looking around to see that she was in her bed. "Oh, no! Please don't tell me they already left!" She jumped out of bed and ran out of the room towards the deck where the others were preparing to leave. "Wait!"
"Hey, look, Nalia is awake," said Jay.
"You said she would be sleeping until we come back, " Kai said, looking at his sister.
"I thought so too, with how tired she looked after her training," said Nya.
"Please don't leave; I wanna help, too." Nalia looked at them with big, pleading eyes, as she didn't want to be left alone.
"Nalia, you've hardly gotten any rest. It would be best if you stayed here and got some sleep," said Zane.
"No! I don't wanna be alone, please." Tears began forming in her eyes. "Please, I don't wanna be all alone again."
The ninjas looked at each other, unsure what to do, until Cole spoke up. "Alright, you can come with us. But you have to stay close to one of us until we are done."
A big smile grew on Nalia's face as her mood lit up. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"But first, maybe shower before we go," said Nya.
"Awww, come on. I don't smell that bad, do I?" Nalia looked at the ninjas.
The ninjas looked nervously at each other. "Eeeehmm...."
"You aren't getting out of this one, little lady," said Nya, taking her hand and pulling her along for her shower.
*A few hours later, the ninjas are seen hanging up missing Fangblade posters.*
"Oh, this is silly." said Zane, while Nalia was helping him.
"You have any better ideas?" Cole asked.
"It's not that bad." Nalia went on to put up another poster.
"Hey, maybe Sensei is gonna go get the Samurai for help." said Jay.
"The Samurai? I'm sure she's—I mean, he's busy looking for the Fangblades as well." said Kai.
"Uh, is everything all right?" Cole asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" said Kai.
"One hundred percent. We're not hiding anything." said Nya.
"You guys are acting weird, and I mean Lloyd weird when he acts like that sometimes when someone questions him about something." Nalia raised a brow.
Kai and Nya looked nervously at each other and then over at Nalia. "Us acting weird. No, no, this is simply sibling bonding."
*Zane sense the Falcon's presence and drops the flyers.*
"Hey, weirdo. You're making a mess of my store front. Yoo-hoo! You got a problem?" said a man, but Zane drops the rest of the signs and walks away. "Maybe I should teach you a lesson on manners."
"I'm sorry, sir. Sometimes our friend is in another world." said Kai, coming over and picking up the signs along with Nalia.
"He's littering all over the place." said the man.
"We'll pick it up. So sorry." said Cole.
"Zane, what's the deal?" Jay asked, turning to look over at Zane who shows them the Falcon. "Ah! It's the Falcon! Oh, my gosh! Every time we follow it, it leads us to good fortune."
"Head back to the Bounty and wait till you hear from us." said Kai to his sister.
"But where are you going?" Nya asked.
"We're gonna follow the bird. Who knows, it could lead us to the first Fangblade." said Kai, and the ninjas and Nalia follows the bird. "I guess good fortune is really far away."
*The ninjas are climbing a mountain when Jay stops on a branch.*
Jay panting. "Keep going. I'll...I'll catch up later."
*The others go on though it isn't long before Cole stops.*
"I'm good. Just...just taking a breather. Uh, I'll meet up with you shortly." said Cole.
"We'll meet you up ahead." Nalia had, at some point, gotten on Zane's back during the travel. Her feet hurt from walking so long, and she didn't want to be left behind.
" *pants* Good thing...we're in... peak... physical...condition. Gosh, that bird just keeps going. *pants* Hey, what do you make of this?" said Kai.
Zane sees a sign and goes over reading it, that warns visitors of Treehorns. "I am not familiar with a Treehorn."
"Oh, no, I think I saw a picture of one of these once; they look so creepy." Nalia thought, holding tightly on to Zane.
"It's probably just some wild squirrels, heh. Well, don't lose him. I'll wait for the other guys to catch up." said Kai.
*Zane and Nalia continues on.*
"Where are we going, my mysterious friend?" Zane questioned, until the Falcon falls from the sky and twitches, with sparks coming out of it.
"Oh, no, the bird!" Nalia looked at it, worried.
"You're a...a robot?" said Zane confused.
"A robot?" Nalia raised an eyebrow, confused about what a robot was. She got off Zane's back as she had gotten some energy to walk again.
Zane puts the Falcon next to a tree and sees the Juggernaut.
"Intruder! Intruder! Prepare to be terminated!" said the Juggernaut.
Nalia's eyes widened, taking a few steps back as she pulled up her staff.
"Ninja, go!" Zane makes a ramp out of snow.
"Intruder! Intruder! Prepare to be terminated!" said the Juggernaut, walking towards Nalia.
Nalia gulped but noticed what Zane was doing, so she went on to keep the Juggernaut's attention on her. As she attacked it's legs, trying to knock it over. But it quickly picked her up, so she did the only thing she could think of, biting it while Zane snuck up on it.
Zane disabled the Juggernaut and sees the same symbol on the Falcon. "The same symbol. Where have you brought me, my Falcon friend?" He spots another symbol on a tree and opens it, revealing the hidden workshop.
Nalia got up from the snow and ran after Zane to the hidden workshop. "Wow, this reminds me a bit about my old cave."
"So, this is your home, my mysterious friend." Zane walked inside with Nalia.
Nalia looks around, curious about everything until she notices a drawing of the bird and gives it to Zane. "Look what I found, Zane! A drawing of the bird!" A big smile grew on her face.
"That isn't a drawing, Nalia, but a blueprint," said Zane, taking the blueprint she gave him.
"What's a blueprint?" Nalia gave him a confused look.
"A blueprint is a guide for making something; it's a design or pattern that can be followed. As an easier way to know how to build what's on it." Zane explained.
Nalia just had a blank face, not understanding anything he just said.
Zane uses the blueprint to fix the bird. "You brought me here, but why?" He questioned the bird.
Zane pulls out another blueprint from under the Falcon's. "No! It can't be! No! NOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"What is it, Zane? What's wrong?" Nalia got worried about what was wrong until she noticed the blueprint. Taking a look at it. "He's not..... a human?"
*Master Wu is walking through a village and approaches Kruncha and Nuckal.*
"Aah! Retreat!"
Wu then enters his destination: Mystake's Tea Shop.
"I would like to purchase some Traveler's Tea." said Wu.
"Never heard of it." Wu gives Mystake some coins and she starts preparing the tea. "You know, those who drink this never return."
"Then I will not bother you again." said Wu.
He start leaving the shop. But stops when Mystake said something else.
"Did the child get better after her first molting? When you gave her the tea and ointment?" She asked while sorting her shelves.
"Yes, she is all better and has fully recovered after using the ointment and drinking the tea," said Wu.
"Do let me know when she has her second molting, as some of them might remove one of the spells put on her. Should you be able to return," said Mystake.
"Should I return, I'll search for you once again," said Wu, leaving.
As he left, Mystake let out a small sigh. "With hope, those spells don't break until the child is old enough to control her real powers. Tha old fool, leaving without a chance to tell the child what or who she is."
*The ninjas finally caught up to Zane and Nalia, and enter the tree.*
"Zane? Nalia?" Kai called out.
"Wow, would you look at this place? Zane, what's wrong?" asked Jay, looking around until he noticed Zane with Nalia sitting beside him with a sad look.
"Are you hurt?" Kai asked.
"You okay?" Cole asked, but Zane sighed and looked at the blueprint again. "Hey, what..." Everyone screams when he opens his chest to reveal a control panel.
Even Nalia was surprised, as she jumped into Jay's arms. "W-what the hell! That isn't normal!"
"You're a robot?!" said Kai surprised.
"Wait, that's what he is?" Nalia looked on, confused, as Jay put her back down.
"All this time, and I never knew." said Zane.
"Uh, guess this explains why you're always acting so weird. Right? Hehe." said Jay, trying to lighten the mood.
"The reason I never had a sense of humor was because my funny switch wasn't on." Zane turns it on. "Hello, my baby. Hello, my honey. Hello, my ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wire." Jay and Nalia laugh while Zane turns the funny switch off and sighs.
"Cool! I didn't know he could sing too!" A big smile grew on Nalia's face.
"Uh, it just makes you more special. You're still the same Zane. Just more, uh, gears." said Cole.
"No matter what you're made of, you're still our brother." said Kai.
"Really?" said Zane.
"Yes, really! That makes you just as cool and awsome!" Nalia smiled happily at him.
"In fact, I bet it even makes you an even better ninja," said Cole, placing a hand on Nalia's head to stop her from jumping around.
"Yeah, and how cool is it that I can honestly say "My brother is a Nindroid."?" said Jay.
"A Nindroid?" Zane questioned, as he and Nalia looked at Jay confused.
"Now come on. Pythor is still out there looking for the first Fangblade, and we need you," said Cole.
"You'll have to go on without me. I just don't feel right." said Zane.
The others looked at each other a little concerned before leaving the workshop, but Nalia decided to stay behind.
Nalia walked over to Zane and hugged him. "You'll always be my big brother, and being a Nindroid doesn't change that."
"Thanks for the comfort, Nalia.... but you should get back to the others," said Zane.
Nalia looked back towards the workshop entrance and then back at Zane, shaking her head as she decided to stay with him.
Zane goes on to examine the blueprint again. At the same time, Nalia stayed close by and just watched.
"Uh, a memory switch?" Zane presses it.
"What's a memory switch?" Nalia looked at him, confused, until she noticed a tear running down his face. "What's wrong, Zane? Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay, Lia," said Zane, patting her head with a smile until the Falcon perches itself on his arm.
A smile grew on Nalia's face, happy he was all better. But more so that he used her nickname.
"Hey, guys. Wait up!" Zane takes Nalia's hand as they run outside and see the others being attacked by Treehorns. "Leave our friends alone! Ninja, go!" Nalia nodded and joined in by doing her spinjitzu.
"What's gotten into Zane?" Cole asked.
"I don't know, but I like it." said Kai.
"Ninja, go!" Everyone went on to do spinjitzu again the Treehorns that starts backing away.
"Are they regrouping? Who's that?" Jay asked, pointing towards a much bigger Treehorn coming out from the trees.
"Holy! Mango! That thing is huge!" Nalia quickly went on to hide behind Kai.
"Their queen. You will not hurt my friends! There is nothing that will hold me back! I know who I am!" Zane starts to turn light blue.
"What's happening to him? Was he programmed to do that?" Kai asked.
"Wow! So cool!" Nalia watched with stary eyes behind Kai.
"I've never seen a robot do that." said Jay.
"You mean Nindroid." said Cole.
"Yeah, whatever." said Jay.
"Zane's unlocked his True Potential." said Cole.
"That's what finding your True Potential looks like. Amazing! I hope I find mine soon." Nalia kept watching with sparkling eyes.
Zane freezes the queen and falls. "What happened?"
"That was awesome!" said Jay.
"You should've seen yourself." said Kai.
"Heh, I've never seen anything like it." said Cole.
"You were so cool! Zane!" Nalia hugged him with a big smile on her face.
"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." said Zane, returning the hug.
"I'm so jealous. His powers are so cool." said Cole.
"We have our very own Nindroid." said Jay.
Everyone cheers.
"Watch out, Pythor. We're coming to get you," said Zane, until he heard someone snoring.
Everyone looked down at Nalia, who was still hugging Zane but had fallen asleep.
"Looks like all of this action tired out our little princess," said Kai, as everyone laughed.