(The Ninja are in the Mechanic's Headquarters looking for Jay.)
Nya: (Calls out.) Jay? Where is he?
Cole: Well, he has to be here somewhere.
Lloyd: Unless he got too scared and left?
Nya: By himself? Without telling us?
Zane: There's always a reasonable explanation.
Nya: (She goes to the arcade cabinet and accidentally presses the keys.) Oops.
Game Voice: Would you like to enter Prime Empire?
Nya: Wait. Jay got the game working? (She looks around at the Arcade Pod and opens the cabinet up.) Unh.
Kai: What's the "reasonable explanation" for an arcade cabinet having a secret chamber?
Cole: (Shrugs. Then he looks up and points.) A security camera! That'll have the answers. Zane can you pull up the video on this computer. (Zane goes to the computer and brings up a video. It starts by showing them entering into the secret headquarters.)
Past Lloyd: (One of the robot arms falls on him and he shouts in surprise, throwing it off of him.) Ahh!!
Lloyd: Um, you can fast-forward that part. (Zane and Cole look at him curiously.) In fact, we should erase this after we're done. (Zane fast-forwards it to the part where Jay has the game working and a wave explodes, knocking Jay down. Zane pauses it.)
Kai: Whoa! Did you see that?
Cole: Rewind that.
Zane: (He rewinds the video.) Appears to be some sort of energy wave.
Nya: Well, what does that mean?
Lloyd: Keep fast-forwarding. (Zane fast-forwards it to the part where the game opens up for Jay to enter. He disappears and the game blacks out just as his friends come. Zane pauses it and they all glance back at the game.)
Nya: Where did Jay go?
Cole: He—he never came out.
Kai: I'm starting to think this is no ordinary game.
Nya: That thing took Jay!
Cole: Maybe to find Jay we have to play the game?
Zane: That would be exceedingly dangerous. Whatever happened to Jay would likely happen to us.
Lloyd: You can't take the chance. Not until we know what we're dealing with. We need answers.
Kai: From who?
(Lloyd scratches his chin, thinking.)
(At the Police Station, they question the Mechanic.)
Kai: (Slaps a file down with Unagami's symbol on it in front of the seated Mechanic.) What is this symbol?
Nya: (Comes around the other side of his chair.) Where's Jay? What did you do to him?
Cole: You better start talking, pal! Or it's going to be a long night. What's going on with that creepy arcade game? And who's Unagami? (The Mechanic's head instantly jerks up.)
The Mechanic: Where'd you hear that name? (Kai and Nya grin at each other, satisfied with their success.)
Cole: So you do know him? (The Mechanic turns his head away.)
Zane: I searched my database of all known criminals and have found no reference to 'Unagami.'
The Mechanic: Ha! You can control your pathetic database. Soon, he'll control everything!
Commissioner: (Comes in.) What's the name of that arcade game you're all worked up about?
Lloyd: Prime Empire?
Commissioner: Yeah, yeah, that's the one. I'm getting reports from all over the city that a bunch of arcade games are changing into it.
Nya: Changing? How?
The Mechanic: (Chuckles softly.) Heh heh.
Commissioner: I don't know. They just changed, like overnight. The game was one thing and now it's Prime Empire.
Kai: Remember the weird pulse of energy when Jay started up the game? I wonder if that had something to do with it.
The Mechanic: (Chuckles louder.) You can't stop it. It's too late. It's starting. Just like he said!
Lloyd: What's starting? What did you do?
The Mechanic: Me? Why, nothing. I've been with your police buddies all night.
Lloyd: Commissioner, would you throw this criminal into cell?
Commissioner: It would be my pleasure. Lock him up, boys!
The Mechanic: (Laughs evilly as he is dragged away.) You can't stop it! It's too late! It's starting! (He pops his head around the door.) Just like he said it would! It's all— (Commissioner closes the door on his face.) Hey, ow, watch it!
Zane: Prime Empire was created by a programmer named Milton Dyer. He's a legend in the gaming industry and considered one of the best coders of all time. If anyone can tell us about Prime Empire, it will be Milton Dyer.
(They take off for Dyer Island on the Destiny's Bounty. Lloyd steers it out of Ninjago City and sets it on autopilot. Zane pulls up a picture of Milton Dyer on the screen.)
Cole: You'd think there'd be an easier way to contact Milton Dyer than flying to an island and trying to figure out which house is his.
Zane: Dyer is a recluse. No one has seen him for almost 30 years. However, it is a private island and there is only one house. His.
Nya: He owns the whole island?
Kai: That explains why it's called "Dyer Island." (They set the anchor down and slide down it to land.)
Nya: Guys, are sure this is the right private island? This place looks a little... run-down. (She heaves the iron gate open enough for them to slip in.)
Zane: These coordinates are correct.
Cole: What is this?
Zane: It is a hedge maze.
Kai: Well, by the looks of it, Dyer's not the only one who's been missing for 30 years. His gardener clearly vanished too, I mean, look at this mess. (He runs up to catch with the others and does not notice the statue's eyes lighting up. They make it through the maze and arrive at his mansion.)
Nya: Wow. Anyone can just walk up to the front door? Think he'd have a little security.
Kai: Or a hedge-trimmer. (He uses the knocker and they are catapulted across the island back to where they started.)
Ninja: Whoa! Unh!
Cole: Uh, let's try that again, and this time, no one get catapulted.
(They go through the maze again and don't notice an ivy vine moving. It stretches across in front of them and attaches to the other side of the garden.)
Nya: (Gasps.) Whoa! That was close.
Zane: Strange. Ivy is not normally known to be a dangerous plant.
Kai: We must have set up a whole security system. Who knows what other booby traps are here?
Lloyd: Step slowly and deliberately. (Behind him, two statues block the maze's exits and their eyes light up. He starts talking, then looks back and sees the lasers.) You never known when—Ah! (He jumps and scrambles out of the lasers' path.) New plan! Run! (They sprint for the entrance of the mansion, jumping when necessary.)
Kai: Talk about giving the evil eye! (Before they make, an iron gate springs out from below and three robot dogs jump in front of them.)
Zane: Robot-dogs have a land speed of 30 miles an hour. (Kai and Zane duck their heads.) We cannot outrun them! (They dodge more lasers.)
Kai: Newer plan. Fight! (He leaps into the air and one of the robot dogs meets him. He Spinjitzus, knocking it down.)
Cole: (He jumps out of the way.) And these evil statues aren't running out of lasers, either. Whoa! (He jumps away again. The ivy vine starts pulling the walls in.)
Zane: (He kicks off one of the dogs and tries to push back one of the walls.) We've got to escape this garden or we're going to get squished.
Kai: Or zapped! (He ducks his head.)
Nya: Or eaten!
Lloyd: Good dog. (Behind him, Cole runs away from a set of lasers aiming at him.) Are you a good dog? (The dog jumps at him and knocks him to the ground.) Not a good dog! (A laser hits the dog and it tips over and falls.)
Nya: That's it! Those lasers will drain the robot-dogs' battery!
Cole: (He runs up to the wall, grunting, and pushes it using his Earth Punch.) I'll hold this back... or at least slow it down? (Zane Spinjitzus, directing the second dog to the lasers' path. Kai takes the last dog and throws it into the air. Both lasers hit and the dogs go down. Lloyd tries to push the other wall.)
Nya: Let's stop these statues. (She uses her Elemental Power to command the water in the fountain. She flushes water over the statues and Zane freezes the water. Cole and Lloyd continue pushing against the walls until they recede and the gate goes down. Lloyd collapses.)
Lloyd: (Sighs.) Nice work, guys! (They all sigh and check on one another. They then see a man approaching and take a fighting stance.)
Bob the Intern: Sorry, I was in the shower. Or else I could've just buzzed you in.
Cole: Are you—are you Milton Dyer?
Bob the Intern: (Laughs.) Oh, heavens, no. I'm Bob the Intern!
(He leads them through the mansion.)
Bob the Intern: I've worked for Mr. Dyer for 31 years now. Though, he hasn't been here in a long, long time.
Lloyd: Wait. Milton Dyer isn't here?
Bob the Intern: No, no. I was hoping you were coming with information for me about where he is. I've been waiting, rather patiently, for his return. He promised me a promotion! (He smiles happily.)
Kai: (Sighs.) Uh, what can you tell us about Prime Empire?
Bob the Intern: Oh, Mr. Dyer can explain that better than I can.
Zane: You just said he isn't here.
Bob the Intern: (He rolls out an old television.) He isn't. (He opens a drawer and takes out a VCR.) This is a recording of him on the day he finished making the game.
Kai: Wow, look at all these scrap game concepts! Fist to Face 4, Unfinished Adventure Game 1, huh, Ukulele Legend.
Bob the Intern: Yeah, but Prime Empire was his favorite. It was so advanced, he said it would seem like magic. (He turns on the television.)
Past Milton Dyer: Prime Empire is not just a videogame. It's a ticket to another world! A world so immersive, you'll think it's real. Prime Empire isn't just going to change how games are played, it's going to change the world as we— (A white flash occurs and static appears as Dyer goes to investigate it. The screen blackens after.)
Lloyd: Wait, what was that flash of light?
Cole: The same thing happened to Jay after he turned on the video game!
Bob the Intern: Yeah. Something went wrong with the game. I asked Mr. Dyer about it once but he wouldn't say.
Zane: Something went wrong, alright. Prime Empire games appeared in arcades all over Ninjago last night. Any idea why?
Bob the Intern: Oh, I'd say that's impossible. Except, Mr. Dyer always used to say... (He recalls from a flashback.)
Past Milton Dyer: Good technology should make the impossible seem possible. It should seem just like... like magic.
Bob the Intern: Anyway, Prime Empire was never released. Too many problems. It broke Mr. Dyer's heart.
Kai: What kind of problems?
Bob the Intern: Something to do with some unauthorized changes Mr. Dyer made to the game. His bosses found out and weren't happy. "Creative Differences" I guess.
Nya: So, what happened?
Bob the Intern: Well, the company fired Mr. Dyer. He was pretty angry about it too. Kept saying they had no vision. But he said he'd have the last laugh. He said they'd be sorry one day.
Cole: He said that?
Nya: A missing programmer set on revenge?
Zane: And now a mysterious villain named Unagami reintroducing the game?
Kai: Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking? (They look at him, confused.) Milton Dyer is...
Ninja: (They look at one another in realization.) Milton Dyer is Unagami!
Kai: And we've got to stop him before anyone else gets taken!
(Back in Benny's Arcade Emporium, Sammy and two other kids watch Leroy play Prime Empire.)
Leroy: (Finishes a level.) Ha! I made it further than any of you! Forget team games, I'll do my own thing!
Sammy: Aw, come on, I'm bored. He's gonna be here forever. (Behind him, Leroy reaches Level 13.)
Game Voice: Would you like to enter Prime Empire? (The game opens up and Leroy enters. The game shuts and advertises its game. The game catches the attention of another child and he starts playing it.)
(End of the episode. For more information, click here.)