(Akita narrates the story of how the Ice Emperor came to the Never-Realm.)
Akita: My land was once peaceful and pristine. But that changed decades ago, when the Ice Emperor imposed his will and corruption upon us and destroyed my people. Now there is no one left to defy him... but I believe one day, someone will stand up against him. I believe heroes still exist.
(The Land Bounty bursts out of the portal and bounces around on the mountains until they come to a stop.)
Ninja: (Screams.) Ahhh! (They land upside down.)
Lloyd: Everyone... okay?
Cole: Unh. Great, now I know how my socks feel in the dryer.
Kai: I think I swallowed my teeth. (The ninja take off their seat belts and jump down. Jay lands on his back, bumping into Kai and knocking him over too.) Whoa!
Jay: Ow. I'm not liking this Realm so far.
Kai: Me... Ugh. Neither.
Nya: (Jumps up and presses the screen for the map.) We're off the map. Coordinates unknown.
Cole: Looks like we made it.
Lloyd: From what Master Wu said, getting here isn't the hard part. It's getting home. The Traveler's Tea? (Cole picks it off the floor.) Good. Whatever happens don't— (The Land Bounty suddenly tilts slightly.)
Jay: What was that? (Lloyd runs to the window to check, and finds they are on the edge of a cliff.)
Lloyd: Oh, no.
Jay: What? What is it? (He walks over to Lloyd.)
Lloyd: No, don't! (The Land Bounty starts tilting over the edge.) Gah!
Nya: We have to get out of here! Now! (She runs off, passing by a screen and presses for the door. She jumps out, with the rest of the ninja following.) Cole!
Kai: Hey! Grab my hand! (Pulls Cole up.) Come on! (They look down to see how far the Bounty fell.)
Jay: (Scoffs.) Worst parking spot ever.
Cole: (Sighs, patting himself.) I thought for a sec. (Gasps.) Oh, no!
Jay: What?
Cole: The Traveler's Tea. (Checks himself again.) It's... It's gone!
Jay: (scoffs.) Well, that's just great! That's awesome! Now we're stuck on a mountain in the middle of a blizzard with no vehicle, no supplies, and no way back!
Kai: Ugh. How could you drop it?
Cole: We nearly fell over a cliff! I had other things on my—
Lloyd: Guys! This is not helping! Nya, anything on the tracker?
Nya: (Pulls out the tracker.) Nothing. No signal.
Jay: No. Of course not. That would be too easy. That would give us hope.
Cole: So, what do we do?
Lloyd: We need to get off this mountain before we all freeze to death. (The ninja start making their way down the mountain. They get caught in a blizzard, slowing them down. They throw off their hoods and stare into the woods.)
Jay: Finally! (The ninja continue walking until they reach a forest, shivering.)
Cole: Gah, I'm so c-c-cold. (Kai tries to use his fire power, but it fails.)
Kai: If I-I s-still had my powers, I could whip us up a f-f-fire.
Lloyd: It'sss not your f-f-fault. (They turn to see growling Frost Wolves approaching them.)
Jay: (gasps.)
Lloyd: Run! (The Frost Wolves chase down the ninja as they run away. They jump over a fallen log. Lloyd looks behind him and runs into a tree.) Agh!
Jay: Lloyd! (Runs back. He helps Lloyd to his feet. The Frost Wolves approach them, growling, but they look up and start walking backwards.)
Cole: Why aren't they attacking?
Jay: I don't know. That's really creepy. (The Frost Wolves run away.)
Lloyd: Let's go, before they come back. (As the ninja walks away, they don't realize a frozen Frost Wolf at the top of a nearby tree. They come to a clearing with people frozen in ice.)
Ninja: (Gasp.)
Kai: What happened to them?
Nya: Whoa. (She listens closely to one of them.) I can hear a heartbeat. Looks like they've been frozen.
Cole: (Tries to break the ice with his Earth Punch, but fails.) Frozen by what?
Nya: (The tracker starts beeping.) Lloyd! I just picked up a faint signal. From the Mech!
Cole: Where?
Nya: (Checks the tracker.) That way. Due east.
Jay: But what about these people? We can't just leave them like this. They're still alive!
Lloyd: There's nothing we can do for them now. We don't even know what happened.
Nya: We have to keep moving. It'll be dark soon. We can come back and help them when we figure out what happened. (Jay nods and they follow the signal.)
Nya: The signal's very faint. Must be some interference or something.
Cole: Maybe it's the cold.
Jay: Or the beacon on the Mech is— (The Frost Wolves appear again, growling.)
Nya: Oh, great!
Kai: I'm getting a little tired of this!
Cole: Yeah, I think I'm done running. What do you say, guys?
Jay: Here they come! (The ninja throw on their hoods. The wolves leap toward the ninja.)
Lloyd: Let 'em have it! (He strikes down one of the Frost Wolves with his Energy while the other one leaps at him. Lloyd throws it off against a rock. The other wolf runs toward Jay and Nya.
Jay: Ha-ah! (He blasts his Lightning at it and it rolls away, electrified. The other leaps toward them and knocks them down.)
Nya: Unh! (Gets up as two wolves surround her.)
Kai: Nya. Use your powers!
Nya: (Tries to use Water, but fails.) I'm trying, but nothing's happening!
Kai: We're surrounded by water!
Nya: It's all frozen! (Suddenly, arrows fly, scaring the Frost Wolves away. They run off, barking. The ninja look up to see three mysterious people. They beckon the ninja to follow them and take them to across a frozen lake to their village. They enter a cabin with a fire burning and a woman sitting inside.)
Woman: Come. Come. Warm yourselves.
Kai: Thank you! thank you!
Jay: (Sighs.) That feels good.
Nya: Who are you? What is this place?
Woman: Oh, this is my home. I am Sorla, of the People of Great Lake. Who are you? Where do you come from?
Lloyd: Far away.
Sorla: Beyond the forest? (Lloyd nods. The three Ice Fishers gasp.) Beyond the mountains?
Lloyd: Yes. (Stands up.)
Ice Fishers: Oh! Beyond the mountains?
Lloyd: We come from...from a place called Ninjago. We're looking for a friend of ours. His name is Zane.
Sorla: Oh, we have seen no one for many years. We are the last tribe on the ice. The others have fled south, and soon, we too must go. The cold grows too strong. The ice, too thick. But perhaps, Sorla can help. Look, come. Look into the hearth fire. (She throws ashes of spirits into the fire.) Tell me again of your friend?
Lloyd: Zane.
Sorla: And the place from which he came?
Nya: Ninjago.
Sorla: Show us, spirits of the earth, spirits of the lake. Show us the fate of Zane from Ninjago. (The fire bursts into flame, showing an image of the Castle of Ice.)
Ninja: Whoa! Wow!
Uthaug: (Gasps.) The Emperor!
Boma: The Castle of Ice!
Sorla: I...I am sorry for your loss.
Lloyd: What do you mean?
Sorla: You cannot save your friend. He has been taken prisoner by the Ice Emperor. For decades, he has ruled this realm, crushing all who stand in his way. His Ice Castle is on the other side of the mountains. A bitter foul place where the ice is corrupt. A place we do not go.
Lloyd: Zane is there? In this Ice Castle? (Sorla nods, sadly.) Can you show us the way?
Sorla: You cannot! It is too cold! The ice there is evil! Dark Ice! No one goes there but the Emperor and his Blizzard Samurai. And they are inhuman. Only a fool would go there. Your friend is lost.
Lloyd: No. I refuse to believe that. Zane is strong. I know him. And he would never give up on us, and we're not going to give up on him!
Kai: Yeah!
Cole: Yeah! And if you think we're not fools, you've got another thing coming.
Nya: Ninja never quit.
Sorla: All of you speak as one?
Lloyd: We speak as one.
Sorla: Your friend is very fortunate. But be warned. The Emperor's General, Vex sees many things. The Dark Ice serves him. If he knows you are here, he will warn the Emperor.
Lloyd: Vex?
Sorla: He will send his Samurai. They feel nothing. They fear nothing. They will come for you.
(In the Castle of Ice, General Vex sees the ninja with his crystal and approaches before the Ice Emperor.)
General Vex: My Emperor.
Ice Emperor: Why...do you disturb my thoughts?
General Vex: I bring a warning, my Emperor. Strangers, from a distant realm come to challenge you. They may be here for the prisoner and to defy your rule.
Ice Emperor: They must be...punished.
General Vex: They must be destroyed. Show them your might. Show them what happens to those who defy the Emperor.
Ice Emperor: Send my Ice Samurai. Command them to destroy the strangers.
General Vex: And all who aid them.
Ice Emperor: Yes. And all who aid them.
General Vex: As you command.
(The Blizzard Samurai marches out of the castle, heading for the village.)
(End of the episode. For more information, click here.)