Rebooted: Charlie's Story

The Curse of the Golden Master

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.