the other side | ninjago

the plan

The team decided it was time to devise a strategy to eliminate the masked figure once and for all. They needed to see their friends again. They couldn't look at Zane any longer motionless in bed. They, too, were missing Cole. He'd been gone first, and it'd felt like an eternity without him. 

Misako hadn't made any headway with an antidote, so they decided to make the first move while they waited. Lloyd couldn't wait for Sadie to meet his missing friends. He also had to make amends with her. She was due to return from her apartment later today, so Lloyd would brief her on the plan they had devised when she arrived.

"Okay, Lloyd, what were you thinking?" asked Kai.

"Okay, now that I've had some time to think about it. To take down the masked villain, we must all work together. We must rely on one another and our abilities. Kai, your powers may be crucial to bringing the vines down," Lloyd stated.

"How will we find them? They disappear every time they kick our butts," said Jay.

"I was getting there. Well, I was thinking they could help," said Lloyd, as he pointed to Zane.

"What do you mean? They are not going to help us," said Nya.

"They might if they know where the masked villain is," said Lloyd.

"Yeah, but as I said, they are not going to help us," said Nya.

"Not willingly," said Lloyd.

"We are going to force them to help us?" asked Jay.

"No, not really. Next time we see them, we will follow them back," said Lloyd.

"But how will we do that without being seen?" asked Kai.

"Well, that's going to be the difficult part," Lloyd said. "We'll just have to be stealthy."

They realized they'd have to wing it at this point because there wasn't much they could plan. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

"We just have to make sure once we get there we don't split up," said Lloyd.

The group agreed. All they had to do now was wait until their next alarm went off. As Lloyd began to walk back to his room, Sadie returned through the doors.

"Sadie!" said Lloyd, running over to hug her. 

She wasn't as ecstatic as he was. He couldn't feel her hugging him back. She felt colder and more distant. He knew it was all because of their most recent discovery, but he hoped to make things up to her soon.

"I am sorry, Sadie. We never meant it." Lloyd said.

"What is the plan?" She responded, ignoring what he just said.

He quickly briefed her on the plan, but this was not his primary concern.

"Is there any way we could talk about it?" Lloyd asked.

"Lloyd I-" 

The alarms went off just as she was about to finish her statement. Their conversation was cut short, and they both went outside to meet the team. Lloyd had no idea if they would discuss this later or not.

"What's going on this time? Evil cats?" Jay tried to make a joke, but it didn't land at the time.

"It's Cole. He's harassing people in the street. Go now, Ninja." said Wu.

The team made their way to the city

They discovered Cole in Ninjago City doing exactly what Sensei had predicted. He caught the other ninja's attention and approached them.

Ninjaaaaa-go!

The group and Cole fought for a while. They eventually got him to the ground, but the team did not want to apprehend him. They stayed away from him until he stood up. They were hoping he'd flee so they could follow him.

He did it! He began to flee in the opposite direction. The team stood still, giving him some breathing room, so he didn't notice them following him. They all began to pursue him after giving him a head start. They ran for a long time before they even remotely slowed down.

Eventually, Cole began to slow down, and they did as well, as they remained close behind. They found themselves in the middle of a dark forest. This is why they were never able to track them down. They had no idea this forest even existed. They'd lost Cole, but they knew they were close. At the very least, that's what they hoped.

"Alright, everyone stays together," said Lloyd. "Let's go!"