A/N Just like the Explorer's Club chapter, this one ended up too long so I'm splitting it in two

Garmadon's POV

I sit near the steering wheel of the Bounty, reading one of my favorite fables. While Misako and the ninja are at the banquet, my brother went on an errand to try to find out as much information on Mara as possible just in case she does manage to get let out.

Because he was off on his errand, I got left in charge of watching the Destiny's Bounty. I don't mind though. Silence is a rarity on this ship. It's nice to be able to enjoy the view of Ninjago while enjoying one of my favorite tales.

I take a break from my fable to look out at the skyline. The city is being rebuilt from the battle between my son and the Overlord, but it already looks magnificent. Cyrus Borg is modernizing the city. As a result, the skyline now gleams neon colors. The buildings are also significantly taller.

Sensing movement behind me, I swing my staff behind me. When it abruptly stops, I turn around. Ciara is standing there, a smirk on her face, and my staff in between her hands, "Is that really the way to greet an old flame?"

"Your feelings were never requited, Ciara," I inform her. She still looks similar to the last time I saw her around 30 years ago, just slightly older. She laughs bitterly.

"Oh Garmy, always the jokester," she moves to sit on the couch next to me. "You really do age like fine wine."

"What do you want?" I ask her, getting to the point.

"Do I need to have a reason to see you?" she asks me coyly. When I look at her skeptically, she sighs. "I have an offer for you."

"No," I already answer, standing up. "I expect you to be off this ship within the next three minutes." Taking my staff, I start to walk away.

"Join me. Alongside my sister, we can rule Ninjago, just like you longed for just a few months ago. Just because my sister can't be with her one love doesn't mean I can't," she follows me, still as spry as ever.

"My son's light has rid my body of the venom from the Great Devourer. My mind is clear again. I don't crave conquest anymore," I tell her sternly.

"Oh yes, I forgot about your son. He's a spitting image of you, with the exception of his light hair and green eyes. It would be a shame if something were to happen to him," she looks down at her nails. They're painted black, sharpened into sharp points.

I narrow my eyes at her. "He killed your father who was exponentially more powerful than you and Mara combined. What makes you think that he won't be able to do it again?"

"If I'm correct, he no longer has his golden powers. Now, he's the master of what...energy? Frankly, I didn't even know that was an element," she puts her hand on her hip. "Does it bother you that he didn't inherit your powers?"

"Why would it? He has been able to accomplish great things with his powers," I answer honestly.

"I just imagined that there would be an extra bond from sharing powers with someone, that's all. The universe deprived you of that," she places a hand on my shoulder. "Is his mother still interested in your brother?"

"Misako and I are happily together."

"Are you really content with a mere mortal though? Your dad created Ninjago after all. I'd think you'd want someone a bit more powerful," she suggests, taking a step closer.

"Must I remind you that you are void of powers?"

"I might not possess my own elemental powers, but I can control five girls that have elemental powers. I worked to gain my power," she explains.

"Ciara, leave," I tell her sternly.

"Garmadon..."

"Leave."

"When I rule Ninjago, you'll have no choice but to love me."

---

Cole's POV

Jay and I stand by the food tables, snacking on the different foods they have. I hold a plate of cake, eating it with my other hand. Jay on the other hand has to rest his plate on the table to eat his creamy biscuits.

"Do you know where any of the other guys are?" I ask Jay. He goes to shrug, but he catches himself.

"No idea. I thought I saw Kai head that way," he points in one direction, "and Zane go that way," he points in the other direction, "oh, and Lloyd is looking for the princess."

"Lloyd and Princess Harumi, who would've thought?"

"Not me, even though it makes sense, considering..."

"Jay, Cole, it's a surprise to see you two here," our heads snap away from each other when we hear a familiar voice. Seliel is standing in front of us, her pink and slightly teal hair wavy. She's wearing a teal and blue long, fitted dress. A silver necklace is around her neck. Her hand is on her hip as she looks between the two of us.

My breath is taken away, but I push any feelings away. Last time, she used them to trick me. There's no way I'm falling for that again. "We still have some of the banquet left, Seliel. You don't have to bug us for at least another hour."

She reaches over and steals a creamy biscuit off of Jay's plate, popping it in her mouth. "Hey!" he yells in protest. She shrugs.

"Nya is looking for you, Jay," she tells him.

His face lights up. "She is?"

I face palm. "Jay, it's a trap. That's what Seliel does," I cross my arms. She raises her hands up in defense.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game, and she's actually looking for you Jay," she reassures him. He looks between Seliel and me.

"You'll be fine for like, five minutes by yourself, right?" Jay asks, already backing away.

"Actually I..." I start, but he cuts me off.

"Thanks, you're the best!" he turns, walking away. I sigh. I look up at Seliel, who has an amused expression on her face.

"Is she actually looking for him?" I ask Seliel while she picks up Jay's plate, now eating his creamy biscuits.

"Yeah," she answers. While she goes to take another bite, I turn away and start to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"Away, probably to find Kai or one of the other guys," I keep walking. She follows before linking her arm through mine.

"Not so fast, Cole. I'm sticking by your side for the rest of the night," she tells me.

"If you think I'm spending the night with someone who not only hit me on the back of the head with a plate but also refused to give my best friend both food and water, you're insane," I tell her, unlinking our arms. She frowns.

"He wasn't that miserable..." she drifts off. I raise an eyebrow.

"Do you see him? He's in a sling, he has a black eye, and he has cuts all over his face. Plus, he told me that if it wasn't for Nya, he wouldn't have ever been able to go to the bathroom, eat anything, or drink anything," I gesture in the direction that he walked off in.

"So maybe we went a little overboard at times, but in my defense, I have no idea where the cuts or sling came from," she defends herself before sighing. "Look Cole, ever since I first got a glance at one of these events in my magazines several years ago, I've wanted to go one. Even though this isn't how I planned it, I still want to try to enjoy it for as much time as I can before later tonight. Yeah, I'm stuck on watch duty, but I really want to make the most of the brief time I have as possible."

Seeing the desperation in her eyes, I feel guilty. All of them were deprived of being regular teenage girls; it's clear to see. While we switched to a different life a few years ago, they always lived in it. They never got to experience the fun things like going to parties with friends or going to amusement parks, and it's clear that Seliel wants to. When I look at her now, I don't see an enemy, but a sad teenage girl who just wants to be normal.

"If I do this for you, you have to promise me that if you ever get me or any of my friends as captives ever again, you'll be nice to them and treat them with respect. You'll treat them humanely," I tell her, making her face light up.

"I promise. Now, what do people usually do at these types of things?" she asks, linking her arm through mine again.

"Well, it really depends on who it is. Some people like to talk to others, while others hang out near the food like Jay and I were doing. Oh, and some people dance," I gesture towards the dance floor. At the mention of dancing, her eyes light up.

"Chamille and I would always practice dancing in my room when we got bored. Can we please dance?" she tugs on my arm.

"I'm not really good at..."

"Oh please. You're the one person who has done triple tiger sashay. Plus, you literally went to the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts," she brushes my words off. I raise an eyebrow.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, I've had nothing to do the past couple of days besides research you all to try to find weaknesses. Besides, you'd be surprised at how much information is available," she shrugs. "Now come on, let's dance."

---

PIXAL's POV

When my scanners pick up the ice guardian, I immediately walk over to him. He is looking at the exhibit from earlier with the two towers. I walk next to him and say nothing.

"This tower is inaccurate," he tells me, pointing to the left tower without even looking over at me.

"How so?"

"When Lord Garmadon went to the top of the tower with the golden weapons, the Great Devourer was not around the tower, but was tangled throughout the city," he explains to me. I nod.

"Then why would they make it look like this?" I ask him. He tilts his head.

"For theatrics, most likely," he turns to me before realizing that it's me. "You're the silver ninja."

"And you are the white ninja," I reply. "You're an android too."

"Jay calls me a 'nindroid'," he informs me. "Why have you found me?"

"I need to make sure you do not sneak off," I tell him honestly. He nods.

"That would be hard. There is significantly more people in the room than ideal if I were to sneak away," he tells me. I look at his face, tilting my head. He looks just like a typical human. If not for my scans, I would not be able to tell that he's a robot. "You appear so...lifelike. Is there a reason you look like a human?"

"I was the son my father never had."

"Father?"

"My creator. He..." suddenly, the fire guardian wedges between us, glaring at me before turning his back to me. His body temperature is significantly raised, possibly from being the fire guardian, but my scans also pick up clear signs of aggression.

"Emergency meeting near the Grundle. Get any of the guys if you see them," he tells Zane before rushing off, his fists clenched by his side.

"I must excuse myself from this conversation..."

"PIXAL," I fill in my name.

"PIXAL. I will see you later tonight on the battlefield," with that, he turns around and walks in the same direction the fire guardian left in.

---

Lloyd's POV

"Lloyd?" at the sound of her delicate voice, I turn to face Harumi. She is wearing a simple green dress, accented with hints of gold. Her hair is down, her white hair gently swooping across her forehead.

"Hello, Pr...Harumi," I catch myself, making her lightly giggle, while I bow.

"Are you doing better now, considering you had a hard fall the other day?" she presses her hand against my forehead as if to check if I have a fever.

"Y-yeah I am," I stutter awkwardly from the closeness. She notices my nervousness and smiles.

"I heard from my parents that you guys are on an undercover mission right now," she tells me quietly, bringing her mouth close to my ear, so she can whisper.

"I didn't know you all knew about it," I admit.

"Well, my parents seemed to know a lot about it, but they told me little. Would you mind telling me about it?" she asks, batting her eyelashes.

While I nearly start explaining, I hold back, "If your parents haven't told you, then it's probably for the best."

"Oh, come on Lloyd," she places her hands on my chest, looking up at me. "You and I both know my parents are tyrants. What are you trying to fight off?"

"Lloyd?" I take my eyes off of Harumi to look behind her. Another girl who looks just like Harumi stands several feet away, flanked by two palace guards. Her hair is up in a bun, a royal headdress on. Her dress is elaborate, a mix of green and gold along with some traditional patterns.

I look between the two Harumi's. The first Harumi turns around and looks at the other one, smirking, her hands still on my chest. "Oh, hi."

The second Harumi looks furious. Her jaw is clenched, her chest rising and falling quickly. The scene raises a lot of attention. "I do not know who you are, you imposter, but I do want you to know that you will not get away with this."

"Oh honey, I already have," with force, the first Harumi takes off in a sprint, letting out a laugh that's very not Harumi-like. One of the guards takes off in a sprint behind her.

"Lloyd, who was that?" the second, and most likely real, Harumi asks me, sounding genuinely distraught.

"I...I think it was the master of form," I admit, now feeling disgusted. I wipe off the part of my tux that she was touching. Harumi's eyes widen.

"Another elemental master? I was under the impression that you and your team were the only ones," she admits in shock.

"I was too. This week has been... a lot," I sigh. She rests a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"You seem exhausted. Would you like to talk about it to someone?" she offers, giving me a kind smile.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" I check. She nods.

"I'm here to listen."

"Well, it all started when I passed out. It happened because..." I start before I feel a cold hand on my shoulder other shoulder.

"I am very sorry to interrupt, Princess, but I must take Lloyd. We have an urgent team meeting," looking to my left, I see Zane.

"I understand. Don't take too long, please. I would like to hear how your week went," she gives me a smile that makes me melt inside. I nod.

"I'd like that."

A/N yeah this chapter was around 2,000 words longer, but I decided to split it because I know I personally prefer reading multiple shorter (like 2,000-3,200) word chapters than a single chapter.

I have a feeling you guys are going to like next chapter. I know I really do

School starts in two weeks, so I'm trying to grind out the end of this book at least. 

See you guys again in like 10 minutes!