WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
~
The other elementals seem to like to show off their powers. A burly man with large metal fits is repeatedly punching an empty oil can; an older man with a funny turban wrapped around his head is sitting crisscross, floating a few feet off the ground; a man with a big bushy beard taps his staff to the ground to produce bright green vines; a man with an afro and 70's style glasses sits plucking a blue banjo, which produces visible soundwaves. None of these people, I notice, are as young as us, except maybe the red haired girl in orange.
"You know him," Lloyd says, watching as Clouse walks by with two of the thugs we fought earlier tonight. "You said his name's Clouse."
"Don't be fooled by his attire," Dad says. "He is a Master of Dark Arts and Master Chen's number two."
"Huh, I thought Master Chen's number two was an eggroll and fried rice," Cole jokes.
"Why haven't you or Wu ever told us there are others with powers like us?" Kai asks.
"Because there are some things we don't want you to know," Dad replies. "You were led to believe you were special, yet you never questioned where your powers come from."
"Are you implying that I'm not special?" Jay asks, placing his hands on his hips.
I cross my arms and smirk. "Of course your special, Jay. Just, not this kind of special."
The boys laugh while Jay glares. Dad continues:
"Everyone on this ship is a descendant of an original Elemental Master."
"Elemental Master?" Lloyd says. "Who were they?"
"They were the First Spinjitzu Master's guardians, each endowed with an Elemental Power that has passed down through generations."
"If that is true, than so is my sister Nya," Kai points out. "But she cant do what I can."
"Can't she?" Dad replies mysteriously. "Power lies in all of you. It only needs to be awoken. The fighters here serve no master and have managed to unlock their own True Potential. For instance, that Paleman." He points to an invisible figure wearing a red suit and a hat. "A distant relative to the Master of Light. Watch Closely and you'll see how he's stayed hidden all these years." The suit and hat that the man is wearing suddenly disappears as well. At the same time, there's a flash of white light and the rush of wind as someone very fast runs by. "Then there's Griffin Turner. Grandson to the Master of Speed."
Griffin runs over to us, smirking. "You cant lay a hand on me. I'm faster than fast, swifter than swift."
"Are you Lightning McQueen?" I ask.
Griffin glares at me then speeds away.
"Uh, Master of Speed?" Jay scoffs. "That's not an element."
"So asks the Master of Lightning," Dad says.
"Oh snap!" Cole exclaims. "He got you there!"
"And, uh, who's she?" Kai asks, pointing to the girl in orange.
She looks back at us, smiling sweetly. I cant help but glare at her, my blood boiling.
Dad watches Kai disapprovingly. "I don't know.
"Most of these people I have not seen. But they will all be gunning for you. You are Ninja. You serve with honor. Here, that means very little."
"Well, maybe honor means something to me," Kai retorts.
He leaves our side and goes down to the girl in orange, who is now being poked and prodded by the guy with big metal fists. My nose flares and I narrow my eyes as I watch the scene unfold. The metal man turns towards Kai, grunting like a caveman.
"It's okay. I can handle myself," says the girl. Her voice is silky smooth, like velvet. It only makes me dislike her more.
"This none of his business," says the metal man. "Karlof cold. Karlof just want her cloak."
"You look like you got big enough mittens," Kai retorts. "Why not leave the gal alone?"
"These not mittens," Karlof replies. "These crush ninja."
Kai chuckles mockingly. "I'd like to see you try."
"Save it for the Tournament, Kai" Dad scolds.
"Don't think Karlof afraid of you."
"No, you don't think much at all, do you?" Kai says. Karlof grunts and grabs Kai by the neck, lifting him into the air. "Just jump in whenever you feel like it!"
"You say Karlof not smart?"
"I'd say Karlof is plenty smart not to start something he cant finish," I say darkly, stepping forward and summoning a ball of dark energy to my hands.
Karlof uses his other hand to punch Kai in the chest, sending him flying across the boat. "Whoopsie. Guess Karlof not smart."
I let out a huff of annoyance and take another step forward, but Dad sticks out his arm to stop me. "Kai started this, he can finish it."
Kai walks back over and stands face to face with Karlof. Karlof clenches his big metal fists; Kai lights his hands aflame and shouts "Fire!" before throwing fireballs at Karlof. Karlof sticks his metal hands out to block the flames, then smashes his fists together, turning his whole body into metal.
Karlof charges at Kai as if he were a gorilla, smashing the ground where Kai stands. Kai does his best to dodge Karlof's blows, but he eventually gets uppercutted so hard that he goes flying onto the roof. Karlof jumps up to join him, smashing everything in sight until he has Kai cornered against the edge. At the last second, Kai jumps out of the way and Karlof accidentally launches himself into the sea. Or so we thought.
Karlorf breaks through the bottom of the roof Kai was on, pulling him down under. Kai sets his fits on fire again and attempts a few blows on Karlof, all of which are blocked. The two take their fight to the giant paddle that is moving the ship, throwing and blocking punches until Kai gets uppercutted again. He lands back on deck and Karlof climbs on top of him, laughing triumphantly.
"Enough!" Clouse yells before Karlof can smash Kai's head in.
"I'm sorry if I was cold to you earlier," says the girl in orange. She offers Kai her hand and he takes it. Again, I feel jealousy stir within my stomach as she pulls him to his feet.
"We're here," Clouse announces. "Welcome to Chen's island."
"I swore to never return," Dad says, staring dreadfully at the beautiful green island we approach.
"You know," Jay says, "you should never swear. It's a sign of weak verbal skills."
I turn to him and smirk. "Fuck, shit, damn, bitch, ass, dick."
Dad gives me a disapproving glare, which only makes me smirk more.
"If Zane's on that island, we'll find him," Kai says, ignoring my shenanigans. "We have to."
Large drums beat a low, earie toon as men in red cloaks preform some sort of dance. The ferry pulls up beside the cobblestone dock, which leads to a black stone gateway with golden snakes painted on the side. Behind the wall, the red roof of a grand palace is just barely visible.
"Welcome to Chen's island," Clouse announces again, leading us off the ship. "The Tournament of Elements welcomes its brave fighters. Master Chen will be pleased you've returned, Sensei Garmadon."
"The pleasure is all mine, Clouse," Dad replies lowly.
Clouse scowls at him before turning away. "I'm sure it is."
"Definitely feeling some tension between you two," Jay whispers.
"Yeah, and how is it we're on an island I've never seen on any map?" Kai adds.
"And care to explain how the face to Ninjago's most popular noodle house is secretly assembling an underground fighting tournament," Cole says in one breath.
"Master Chen used to be a friend," Dad says. "Now he's a traitor. During the Serpentine Wars, Chen turned against his own kind and sided with the treacherous snakes."
"The battle you and Uncle Wu fought together in, he was the enemy?" Lloyd says, bewildered.
"He used deception to divide the Elemental Masters. We barely defeated the Serpentine, and in a deal for his surrender, Chen was to never leave this island. Little did we know, he'd begin to build his criminal empire from here."
"He may have divided our ancestors, but he's not gonna divide us," Lloyd says determinedly.
Kai pushes me aside, causing me to fall into Cole's arms. I glare at him, then I see why he pushed me. The girl in orange is walking a few feet behind us and Kai is staring at her as if he were a queen. My heart twists itself into a knot and then drops to my stomach.
"Lady's first," Kai says politely. The girl smiles kindly at him and continues. Kai watches her go, entranced. "Fire will melt her icy heart. Just wait."
A small squeaking noise came from my mouth, but Kai didn't seem to notice. The others did, however, and they looked at me sympathetically. Dad scoffs disapprovingly and continues towards the gate.
"Are you okay?" Cole asks me as the others trail ahead.
I nod my head. "I'm fine."
"You're sure? Because I could always knock some sense into him-"
"It's fine, Cole. We broke up and he can do what he likes."
With that, I step out of his arms and catch up with the group.
"This is a big island," Cole says. "Zane could be anywhere. Keep an eye out."
The doors open to reveal a marvelous stone brick courtyard with a red carpet leading up to the Palace door; The palace is five stories high with yellow wood walls, red detailing, and a bluish-gray roof. More men in red robes pound on large drums, muttering sum sort of chant, which only personifies the grand, intense feeling of the place.
"So this is the house that noodles built," Jay says, impressed. "Always wanted to go to a red carpet event."
"Chen lives like a king," Dad says disapprovingly. "Here, he's totally self-sufficient. The only way on or off this island is with his permission, which you have to earn."
"You never told me about this place," Lloyd says. "How do you know so much about this island?"
"Because before Chen was my enemy, he was my Sensei," Dad says. He pulls back the robes on his shoulder to show a purple snake tattoo, the same kind of tattoo that the thugs from last night had.
~
All of us Elemental masters were sat in a half circle, waiting for Master Chen to arrive. I'm seated between Lloyd and Cole, Dad is on Lloyd's other side.
"You never told me you had a Sensei," Lloyd says suddenly. I turn my head to listen as I too am very curious.
"When I was your age, I sought a darker means of guidance," Dad says, ashamed. "He taught me to win at all costs, no matter who I hurt. It wasn't until you and your sister saved me that I saw the light."
"Uh, apparently he also never taught you to have a sense of humor," Jay says loudly. "Lighten up, we're in an underground fight club! This is supposed to be fun!"
A loud gong bangs and an inspirational tune starts to play as Clouse says. "All rise for Master Chen."
Master Chen is lowered from the sky, seated on a gold thrown with many buttons and wearing an obnoxious purple snake skull hat. "Welcome to the Tournament of Elements. Now, every on can all di-" The doors suddenly slam behind us. I reach under my shirt instinctively. "-rect your attention to me!"
Chen laughs a boisterous and high pitched laugh, waving for us all to sit back down.
"I forgot to mention he has a penchant for theatrics," Dad says so only Lloyd and I can hear. I sigh and pull my hands out from under my shirt.
"Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesized Green Savior and his Purple Side-Kick."
I open my mouth, a string of curse words ready to set Chen straight, but Cole pinches my side and shakes his head. I close my mouth grudgingly and glare at our host.
"And a former pupil has returned," he says delightedly. He turns around and motions to the golden gong, which has a picture of a snake inscribed in it. "This symbol is for the Anacondrai, fiercest Serpentine warrior to ever roam this land. It's creed: 'Only one can remain.'"
Lloyd and I share a weary glance. One of Chen's thugs bangs the golden gong again and it splits open to reveal a bracket.
"Good, looks like we're each in our own bracket. We wont have to face each other for a while," Kai says. It seems, however, that he disregarded the fact that we are in the same bracket.
"Better find Zane before that happens," I say tensely.
"Behold, a Jadeblade," Chen says. Behind him, Clouse holds up a shining pale green blade with a golden hilt. "Here, it represents life. Obtain it, move on. Allow your opponent to take it, loser. The rules are simple. Every match will be different. No two fights will be the same. Your powers will keep you in the tournament. Use it or lose it."
"What does Karlof win?"
"Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams, and a lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles," Chen says enthusiastically. He spins around dramatically and adds, "But no one is here because of noodle. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!"
Many of the people around us cheer while I scoff. I'm already the best fighter in all of Ninjago, I don't need to win a tournament to prove it.
"And what happens if they loose?" Dad asks, silencing everybody.
"Lose?" Chen says wildly. "Who here like to lose? Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun happy place!" He laughs hysterically. "Fun time on me!"
Normally, I'd like chaotic energy such as Chens, but something about him is putting me off. Maybe it's the fact that he has Zane here somewhere, locked away for safe keeping? Or maybe it's his overfondness of snakes. Either way, I get the feeling that there's more to this Tournament than meets the eye.
~
I've said it once, I will say it again, I AM SO EXCITED!!! Hope you enjoyed! :D Until next time, Wacky AWAY!
Word Count: 2425