The snakes continued shooting fireballs which Harumi shot back at them with her katana. There were some streets she couldn't save for the cars were now on fire and the ground was destroyed. The screams of the citizens echoed through her ears as she fought back. 

"Pix. I need water, these things are hard to destroy without powers." Harumi spoke into their communicators as she dodged the attacks.

"I'm on my way, Harumi." Pixal responded as she approached the scene and broke all the fire hydrants that were on the street.

The water spewed out from the ground and towards the snakes which turned into ash and disappeared.

"Nice one, Pix!" Harumi cheered as she helped some citizens escape from a building.

They continued evacuating people along with fighting some snakes they encounter.

"Hurry." Harumi commanded as some people rushed out of a building.

"Harumi! Pixal! The ninja are trapped inside the pyramid. You need to go and help them, I fear they are in terrible danger." Master Wu spoke through the communicators from the monastery.

"One of us needs to defend the city." Pixal said as she used the mech to grab the huge snake and throw it backwards.

"And one of us needs to find out what happened to the ninja!" Harumi called out as she opened the fire hydrant and let some water spray towards the snakes which disintegrated them. "You go, Pixal."

"What about you?"

"I can handle this. I'll hold them off. Go!" Harumi yelled as she ran towards another street.

Pixal nodded and took off to get the helicopter from the monastery. Harumi ran through Ninjago city as she continued fighting. The news flashed on the screen of a television store she was running past which made her stop.

"They don't appear to be mindless monsters. It's like there's a pattern to their movements. They're all converging at one point." Gayle Gossip reported from the television as she jumped from building to building. "Up here, Vinny, look! They've been summoned by some kind of snake witch leader. We need to hear what she's saying. Come on!"

Harumi paid attention to where Gayle Gossip had found the person responsible for the fire snakes in the city. She pulled her hood over her head and made her way to the same spot which was only a few blocks away.

"Where is this museum?" Aspheera directed the question to her army of snakes. Harumi hid behind some rubble as she listened to the conversation. "I will have this weapon and use it against the Deceiver."

"There you have it viewers at home. In an NGTV exclusive, we've broken the story wide open." Gayle Gossip turned towards the camera to do her report.

Harumi gasped as the snakes turned their heads towards Gayle's hiding spot. She was about to warn them but there were too many for her to handle. She can save her when she has back up.

"Who are you?" Aspheera asked as she smashed the boxes that Gayle was hiding behind.

"I am a citizen of Ninjago city. And I'm not scared of you." The reporter defended.

"I am Aspheera, and you should be." The snake hissed.

"Aspheera?" Harumi whispered the name as she tried to recall if she had heard it before.

"Uh, the ninja will stop you!"

"Ninja? Those fools who released me?" The statement made Harumi freeze as she continued eavesdropping. She took the time to look over some boxes to see her features. Her mind instantly recognized the image. It's the snake on the news when Gayle did her report on Clutch Powers.

"Released you?" It seems like Gayle Gossip also found the news quite a shock.

"I entombed them in a pyramid and left them to burn in the flames of my wrath. You will never set eyes on the ninja again, they are gone." Aspheera stated with ease. She was really proud of what she had done.

"Other villains have thought so, but they were wrong. The ninja will be back."

The conversation continued as Harumi tried to get a better look of what Aspheera was after in the museum. She saw the top of a poster but could not see what it was.

"Tell me where this museum is and I will spare your life." Aspheera threatened.

"Three blocks that way. Oh, uh, whoops." Vinny immediately covered his mouth from behind the camera after he realized what he had just done.

"Bring them!" Aspheera commanded and the larger fire snakes picked up Gayle Gossip and Vinny with their teeth.

"Harumi, I have located the ninja. We are on our way to the city." Pixal reported through her earpiece.

"Copy that, Pix. I just got some news myself." Harumi responded as she watched Aspheera leave with Gayle Gossip. She was relieved that her friends were alright but they were getting a scolding from her later.

She ran the opposite direction in search for the ninja. The streets were now quiet as she had managed to clear most of them of civilians.

"Help! Somebody help me!" She heard a yell and began running towards it. Harumi leapt up some cars and made her way to the roof of a building where she tried to locate the source. A huge snake who had a man between his teeth was visible from where she stood.

"Hang on!" She called back and drew her katana from her back as she ran to the person. The snake threw the man in the air, ready to catch him in his mouth, but was suddenly knocked backwards.

Harumi jumped in the air to save the man but he was too far. She saw Kai catch the man from his car and she looked down to see the ninja's vehicles approaching the scene. Two ninja were on the roof and Harumi had landed in Lloyd's arms who had them raised to fire his power at the snake.

"Hey, thanks!" She giggled as he looked shocked to see her there. "Nice catch, Lloyd."

"Rumi!" He gasped in surprise as he looked at the girl in his arms. He had been gone for two days and the place was already filled with surprises. "Where did you come from?" Lloyd turned his head to check where she had been.

"No time to explain. Hit it!" She jumped off his arms as Lloyd and Jay shot their powers at the same time.

Nya drew some water from a nearby fire hydrant which placed out the flames of the snake and Zane finished it off with a blast of snowballs from his helicopter.

"Aspheera is on her way to the museum to retrieve some artifact she said was a weapon." Harumi explained to Lloyd as they climbed down the vehicle. "She has Gayle Gossip."

"How did you find out about all of this?" Lloyd walked towards the man they had just saved.

"I followed her after I saw the broadcast through a shop window."

"Thank you. You're back. Thank you." The man sobbed as the two approached him. "I thought that thing was gonna eat me!" The cameraman approached them as the reporter continued crying.

"There is no need to worry now. You are safe." Harumi assured as she awkwardly patted his back.

"It's okay. You're gonna be fine." Lloyd added but the man continued crying.

"I'm not gonna be fine. I'm not! I'm gonna be scarred for the rest of my--." The man was cut off by Cole who joined the couple.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay. You're alright." Cole comforted him which made the man sigh.

"Okay, yeah." He agreed. "I'm- I'm okay now."

"Look we have to go." Lloyd informed the man.

"I found Aspheera. She's heading towards the Ninjago Museum of History with Gayle Gossip." Harumi informed the other ninja who nodded.

"What are we waiting for? Let's hit the road!" Cole exclaimed as the trio ran towards their vehicles.

Harumi boarded the Land Bounty and was greeted by Jay and Nya.

"Hey, Rumi!" Jay smiled as he looked over his shoulder where Harumi and Lloyd had sat.

"Hi, Jay. How was your adventure in the desert?" Harumi inquired as Nya drove to the museum.

"Boy, do we have a story for you!" Jay exclaimed excitedly.

"It better explain why Ninjago City is under attack again."

"Save it for another time, we need to stop Aspheera first." Lloyd commanded.

Screaming was heard from the outside which made the ninja look around.

"Guys, there are six snakes attacking the citizens on the next block." Zane reported from his helicopter since he got a good view of the city.

"Copy that!" Nya responded as she made a sharp turn.

"It's the commissioner!" Harumi pointed out as they approached the scene. The police commissioner was now surrounded by a bunch of flaming snakes.

The ninja jumped out of their vehicles and started aiming at the snakes with their powers. Harumi stayed back as she tried to find the manual to check for any water features. Harumi stepped out of the vehicle with the guide to the land bounty but she found the ninja talking to the commissioner.

"Evacuate as many people as you can and set up a perimeter. We'll handle the rest." Lloyd commanded.

"I already created one on the east side of the city. But I'm sure there are more on the other side." Harumi informed the commissioner who left with his officers.

"We'd better get a move on." Lloyd pulled his hood over his head as they all ran towards their vehicles.

"Actually, I'm sitting this one out." Kai sighed as he looked down which made the team come to a halt.

"What?" They all asked at the same time as they turned their heads around. "Why?"

"Aspheera stole my powers, remember?" Kai pointed out. "I can't help. I mean, Jay had to save me just now. Jay!"

"Huh. That's a weird way of saying thanks." Jay scratched the back of his head.

"Just go without me. I would only get in your way."

"Powers don't make a hero." Lloyd spoke as he approached him.

"Dude, that's just something people with powers say to make people without powers feel better." Kai scoffed and Harumi walked forward.

"That's not true, Kai. We need you!" Lloyd tried to convince him.

"Then take it from me. I may not be an elemental master like all of you but I can still help in any way I can. They never made you who you are, Kai. But there is always something you can do." Harumi stated with an encouraging smile as the ninja admired the scene from a distance.

"We don't have time to argue. The people in that museum need help." Nya interjected as fireballs shot in the sky a few miles from them.

"She's right. We gotta go." Cole agreed and Kai turned his back towards them.

"If you change your mind, you know where we'll be." Lloyd informed him as they all made their way back to the vehicles.

"I got this." Harumi told them as she sat in the driver's seat and stepped on the gas. "Hang on!" she called back.

"Woah." Jay gasped as he fell backwards from the speed.

Harumi drove through the streets of Ninjago city, occasionally making sharp turns she would encounter.

"I didn't know you could drive so fast, Nya. Wait for us!" Cole spoke from their communicators as he drove his rock cycle behind them.

"I'm not driving. Harumi is." Nya responded as she sat in her seat with a proud smile on her face. "You should do this more often."

"Just please don't try to get us killed." Jay exclaimed as he gripped on the leather of his seat while Lloyd smirked.

The arrived at the museum faster than they had expected. The team jumped out of their vehicles and ran through the doors. They passed the reception and made their way towards the exhibits.

"Aspheera is a snake. They would probably be by the serpentine exhibit." Harumi suggested as they ran.

Lloyd stretched his arm out to stop the team as they approached the door. He took a peak of the inside and saw Aspheera leaving through the other side of the room.

"They're looking for a scroll." Lloyd informed them in a whisper. "Must have some special kind of power. But they haven't found it yet."

"Maybe it's in another exhibit." Nya stated before walking towards the directory. "Hall H."

"Come on, if we hurry we can beat them."

The team ran across the exhibit as they raced against Aspheera. Eventually, they reached a pair of double doors with the same poster Harumi had seen with the serpents.

"This has to be it." Lloyd said as they found a scroll inside a glass case.

"Great! Kai, melt the glass." Jay exclaimed in excitement then realized what he had just said. "Oh, yeah."

"Wouldn't work anyway." Cole pointed out. "It's probably clear stone. Maybe if I caused a centralized earthquake." He thought of a plan while Harumi and Nya looked at each other.

Nya approached the glass and tapped it which made it open.

"Or we could do that." Cole shrugged as he saw the case.

Lloyd grabbed the scroll and the minute he started reading it a green light surrounded him. His eyes glowed while a small flame lit around his head. The team jumped back from the light and Harumi had managed to knock the scroll away from his hands.

"Are you okay?" She asked as the scroll rolled towards the side.

"What happened?" Zane questioned as Lloyd panted.

"I-I don't know." He answered. "It was like suddenly, I felt this- this wave of energy pass through me." He felt his hands start to shake.

"Your head was on fire!" Jay exclaimed.

The doors on their right burst open and revealed Aspheera and her fire snake army.

"You! Impossible!" She was shocked to see them there. "I left you entombed."

"Yeah? Well we got out!" Cole admitted proudly.

"Your highness! The forbidden scroll!" A snake pointed towards the scroll on the ground.

"Attack!" Aspheera commanded as she charged towards the scroll.

"Don't let her get the scroll!" Lloyd informed them as they all ran towards the scroll.

Lloyd kicked the scroll which made it bounce off Aspheera and towards the air which he kicked back up. The other ninja each took on a fire snake. Zane and Jay charged towards one snake and Cole tackled another. 

Harumi used her swords to weaken the serpents and Nya shot them down with her water powers. Lloyd got a hold of the scroll but Aspheera knocked it out of his hands. When she was about to grab it, Lloyd kicked it towards her back where Zane and Nya were taking out some snakes.

The scroll rolled towards Aspheera's servant and was about to pick it up but she had knocked him away. Lloyd landed a kick on her before he grabbed the scroll but he got thrown backwards once again. Harumi caught the scroll as she kicked Char who was on her left side.

"I have never seen you before. Who are you?" Aspheera questioned as she slithered towards the girl in a jade green gi.

"I am Harumi. And you are not getting your hands on this scroll." Harumi stated as her eyes glowed. The light iluminated her already dark brown eyes. She had a weird feeling rush through her as she held the scroll.

Aspheera had charged right into her and Harumi threw the scroll in the air.

"Lloyd, catch!" She yelled as she tackled Aspheera who turned her head towards the direction of the scroll. The snake witch had managed to make her fly towards the wall as Lloyd caught the scroll.

"You take your hands off her!" Lloyd yelled as he summoned his power and shot a blast of energy at the snake. Despite having the experience of the golden power, he never felt so much power course through his veins before. And his anger made it even more powerful.

She had managed to dodge the attack which created a whole on the wall. Harumi got back up and charged towards Aspheera who made her way towards Lloyd. She kicked her away and Lloyd passed the scroll to her hands.

"Hold onto it. You don't have powers so it won't affect you." He informed her and she nodded.

Aspheera made a move towards them which they had managed to avoid. More fire snakes came in and one was able to grab Harumi by her back.

"I gotcha!" Nya yelled as she blasted some water towards her direction.

"Thanks!" Harumi called back and threw the scroll towards Lloyd as Aspheera grabbed a hold of her and launch her towards the wall. She turned towards Lloyd and charged at him which made the scroll fly upwards.

"Yes!" Aspheera cheered as she caught the scroll in her hands which made everyone gasp as they heard her. "At last! The power of the Forbidden Scroll is mine. Mine!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Lloyd stated as he and the ninja prepared for another round of fighting. He could already feel his muscles tense up after all those months of laying around but he shook it off. If he wanted to get back his ninja skills, now was the time to do it.

Aspheera started her spinjitzu which made the team stop.

"Oh no." Nya gasped as they all know what was happening next.

"Ninja go!" Lloyd commanded and everyone started their spinjitzu.

Everyone yelled as Aspheera's spinjitzu towered over them with the help of the scroll. She knocked them all in one corner and shot a blast of power towards the ceiling which made the debris fall on the ninja. If they were not in pain before, they were now. 

Aspheera brought back to life the serpents inside the crates.

"You three, finish the ninja." She commanded towards the giant fire snakes. "The rest of you, follow me."

Aspheera left the room as the snakes approached the ninja who were under a pile of debris.

"I won't let you hurt them!" A kid stepped in front of the ninja with his arms out as he tried to protect them.

Kai came out of nowhere and hit the snakes with his sword to distract them as he got the kid out of the way and towards the door. He pulled the fire alarm which made water pour out from the ceiling. The fire snakes let out a shriek as they were weakened by the water.

"Now, Zane!" Kai commanded. "Let 'em have it."

Zane lifted his arm from under the debris and froze the snakes which made them disappear. The ninja groaned as they laid on the floor.

"Is everyone alright?" Lloyd asked around as they all crawled out from the debris.

"We're good." Cole responded as they all went around Kai.

"Are you okay?" Harumi inquired as noticed Lloyd had not approached them. He had his back turned as he looked at his hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Rumi." Lloyd responded as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Harumi leaned her head on his to which Lloyd returned with his eyes closed.

"What happened back there?" Zane questioned as he approached the two. "What did that scroll do to you?"

"I don't know." Lloyd answered as the two listened. "Whatever it was, when I touched it, I felt--."

"What?" Harumi and Zane spoke at the same time.

"Power. Like nothing I've ever felt. We have to get it back." Lloyd stated. "Before it's too late."

"First, we have to figure out where they went."Cole stated as the rest of the ninja joined them.