Ninjago: The Purple Ninja - Book 2

Prime Empire: Chapter 3 - Level 13

I think it's wholesome that FugiDove is feeding birds and a chicken while his friends get an arcade cabinet for their next evil plan. 

"And now a Ninjago News special report. Arcade Apocalypse! Prime Empire. It's not just a video game craze sweeping the city, but something far more sinister. We're receiving reports that players who reach the 13th level are mysteriously vanishing! Where are these missing players? Who's taking them? And more importantly... will I win a Peabody Award for this hard-hitting report? Stay tuned!"

The Ninja and Pixal entered Borg Tower the next day. The Ninja had given Borg the original Prime Empire cabinet to study it, and since more and more people were disappearing, they decided they had waited long enough and needed answers. 

" I really hope Cyrus Borg's figured out what's going on with that game we found in the Mechanic's lair." Lloyd says hopefully as he and the others enter the elevator. They reached the 100th floor within a minute, and were immediately greeted by Borg. 

Welcome to floor 100.

"Ah, ninja," Borg greets the Ninja warmly. The Ninja and Pixal exit the elevator and greet him with kind smiles. "Your little game has kept me quite busy."

"What have you discovered?" Nya asks him, as they walk with him through his workspace. 

" A new appreciation for the designer, Milton Dyer." Borg chuckles. 

"He designed a pretty killer security system on Dyer Island, too." Kai remarks. Borg's face falls. 

"Wh-wh— More-More impressive than mine?" He stammers. 

"Do you have robot dogs? Because he had robot dogs."

"And statues that shot lasers, and walls closing in on us, and sentient ivy." Katarina adds. 

Borg laughs awkwardly, a twinge of jealousy settling in. He clears his throat. "Yeah, well, ahem. I've run diagnostics on the cabinet and this game is far more complex than anything I've ever seen. Even more than my ill-fated Digiverse," Borg wheels over to a computer beside the cabinet and presses a key on its keyboard.  "It's a virtual world, made up of zones inside the game."

"So Jay's in one of those zones?" Nya asks. 

"Not just Jay. The game's play account has exploded. Over 800 players are now trapped inside the game." The Ninja gasp horrifically. 

"Holy fucking shit." Katarina says aloud. 

"All the people who reach level 13 and disappeared into the cabinet!" Kai says. The zones shown on the screen turn red. 

"The world inside, Prime Empire, is controlled by Unagami.

"And Unagami is Milton Dyer." Zane adds. 

"Which means there are two ways to deal with this. Find Dyer in real life and stop him or..." Borg gestures to the taped-off cabinet. "Enter the game, just like Jay did, and stop Dyer's avatar, Unagami."

Lloyd hums thoughtfully. "I think we should divide up and go for both at the same time."

"I'm afraid Zane and Pixal cannot enter the game. The Prime Empire code is so complex, they could overwrite your programming." Borg explains to Pixal and Zane, who widen their eyes. Pixal looked uneasy. 

"I like my ones and zeroes just the way they are, thank you." Zane smiles assuringly and holds her hands. 

"Then we'll stay here and track down Dyer in real life."