WARNING: MENTIONS OF SUICIDE
~
It had only been a day since Cole was dropped into the pit and I am already miserable. Cole is the only one who knows about what went down two nights ago and I'm still dealing with the aftereffects. I would talk to Lloyd, but I'm not ready to admit to him that I almost took my life again.
I'm snapped from my contemplation by loud cheering.
"Winner!" Chen yells. "Loser!"
He presses a button on his chair and the Master of Sound is dropped into the pits below. Skylar, Master of Amber, has won her fight.
"I hope the Tournament of Elements has entertained you as much as it has me," says Chen. "To thank you, I wanted to give everyone fancy jewels and untold shiny things." Murmurs of excitement ripple through the remaining competitors as Chen pulls out of tray of diamonds. "But then in yesterday's battle, masters Jay and Cole tried to undermine me by teaming up and refusing to fight each other. And that has made me very upset. For their insubordination, all of your fancy quarters will be taken away, and tonight everyone must sleep together in the chow house. That is all. Thank you, you can go."
"Nice one, Jay," Kai grumbles, glaring with the rest of the crowd.
"Woah, easy, Romeo," Jay retorts.
"Don't worry about them," says Lloyd. "We aren't here to make friends, just save ours."
"Yes, but exclusion of others has only made you enemies," Dad warns. "Beware how you treat those around you, for they will treat you the same."
~
That night I slept restlessly on the bunk above Lloyd. The soft snores of our competitors were all but soothing, and the words "what if" kept racing though my mind. What if we had just followed the rules? What if Cole had won instead of Jay? What if I had been successful in suicide? What if Kai never left me? How could all this have been different if there were these simple changes?
"Couldn't sleep either?" Jay asks. The three boys had climbed out of bed.
"Not when we still have to get Zane and Cole back," says Kai.
I wish that was all I thought about.
"Speaking of backs," says Lloyd, "these new beds are the worst."
"Should we wake Tasha up?" asks Jay.
"No, let her sleep," says Kai. "She's had a rough couple of days."
You don't know the worst of it, I thought.
"All right," says Lloyd, "let's do--"
The loud bang of a gong cut's Lloyd off. The boys quickly climb back into bed as the lights turn on. Clouse and his cultists have all entered the room looking well rested and enthusiastic.
"Good morning, fighters," says Clouse mockingly. "Oh, that's right, it's the middle of the night."
Clouse's goons yank us out of bed and strap roller skates to our feet.
"Lemme guess," says Lloyd. "Another one of Chen's impromptu battles?"
"Oh, roller skates!" Jay cheers, jumping and doing a spin in the air. "I love roller skates!"
"We should be used to this by now," I sigh.
"Did I ever mention I once placed first in the Mother-Son Skate-off?" He chuckles fondly. "I should have never admitted that."
"Master Chen wants everyone in the Royal Arena," Clouse announces. "I wouldn't be late if I were you."
"If most of us already fought, why are we all in skates?" asks Skylar.
"Only two of you will be fighting," says Clouse, "but the rest of you have a chance to affect the outcome."
"Who's fighting?" Griffin demands. "Tell us now."
"The Green Ninja versus the Master of Form," Clouse says ominously. Then he leaves the room, his cultists following closely behind.
"Master of Form?" I say. "Who's that?"
"You haven't heard?" says Kai. "I hear she can look like anyone. She'd be right under your nose, and by the time you figure it out, she's discovered all your weaknesses, then it's game over. But you're the Green Ninja, what weakness could you have?"
I narrow my eyes at Kai. We all know each other's greatest weakness.
"Aside from the sore back, not many," Lloyd replies stupidly.
"Thanks," Kai says, skating away smoothly.
Jay does a flip across the table whooping and yelling with glee. Then Kai comes up behind us, stumbling and fumbling, struggling to keep his balance.
"Kai!?"
"Why did it have to be skates?" Kai grumbles. Then he looses his balance and falls on his face.
"Watch your back, Green Ninja," says the other Kai in a girlish voice. Then she changes into a girl with short violet hair-- her true form.
A low growl rumbles in my throat and I summon a small ball of energy to my fingers. "Just say the words Lloyd and she will be lying flat on her ass."
"No, Tasha. Let's just go to the arena."
The four of us follow the crowd down to the arena, Kai occasionally losing his balance and falling. It was up to Jay and I to make sure he stayed upright.
"I don't like the look of this," Lloyd says as we skate out onto a large wooden racetrack.
"Don't worry, we got your back," says Kai. Then he falls on his face again.
"Welcome to my favorite event," Chen announces. "Thunderblade!"
"Hey, I know this game," Griffin says. "It's just like--"
"No, it's not like that! This is my game, I made it up! Fully original," Chen argues. He picks up a Jadeblade and tosses it to Lloyd. "A Jadeblade for you, Master of Light Power, and another for Chamille, master of Form. Where--" he pauses, looking around for her until she shifts into her normal form. "Ah, there you are." He tosses her the blade.
"The rules are simple. Each lap you complete with your Blade in possession, a point. Most points before the time expires, you win," says Chen.
"And what about us?" I say, crossing my arms. "Are we just supposed to stand here?"
"You get to help anyone you wish, or hurt for that matter," Chen says, smiling mischievously. "You're free to choose sides. I'm not a dictator."
As expected, everybody except Kai, Jay, and me joins Chamille's team and adorn an orange helmet. The four of us where a green one.
"What was that you said about us having targets on our backs?" Lloyd says bitterly.
"Don't worry," says Kai, stumbling towards us, "we're still a team." He falls on his butt.
Jay sighs. "I gotta be honest. This doesn't look good."
Everyone lines up along the finish line as Chen grabs a microphone. "Lloyd, master of Light Power versus Chamille, master of Form. Most laps with their Jadeblade when time runs out wins. Loser is out. Thunderbladers on your mark, get set, good luck to everyone, but mostly Chamille because we all want the Green Ninja out. Now go!
A loud horn sounds and Lloyd and Chamille take off, getting a head start on the rest of us.
"Oh, how about some spectator ambience?" Chen presses a button on his chair and a fake applause rings through the stadium.
Another horn blows and the rest of us are released.
"It's us against the world, guys," Jay says. "If Lloyd has any chance of moving forward in the tournament, it's up to us."
Jay and I skate skillfully after Lloyd, but the other skaters block our paths. They shove Lloyd to the back of the crowd, so far back that even Kai catches up to us.
"We have to give him room!" Jay shouts.
"And just how are we supposed to do that?" Kai asks, grabbing Jay's shoulder for support.
"I have an idea. Don't touch anyone."
"Then who am I supposed to hold onto?"
Jay shrugs him away and uses his lightning to shock the people infront of us, creating a path for Lloyd to skate through. Kai follows close behind him unstably, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him down with him. All the others skate past them, laughing.
"Use your powers!" Kai shouts.
"Are you crazy?" Lloyd asks as I pull him to his feet. "I'll never stay on the track."
Lloyd and I skate away from Kai, pelting after the pack. But no matter how fast we skate, we can't catch up.
"You may not be crazy," I say angrily, "but I most definitely am!"
I grab onto his hand and use my power to boost us forward. Contrary to Lloyd's belief, we did not go flying off the track, we caught up with the pack. But still, they're a lap ahead of us. If we want to truly catch up, we'll have to lap them.
A couple of the other Elementals circle Lloyd and I, keeping us from passing the pack. With an aggressive flick of my wrist, they all momentarily stop moving and Lloyd and I skate past. But we skate straight into a ramp. We fly through the air, letting go of each other's hands before summersaulting gracefully back to the ground.
Lloyd and I eventually catch up to Jay, who is on the lead lap. Together, him and I flank Lloyd, him guarding his front while I guard his back.
"Wait, where'd the master of shadow go?" Jay asks suddenly.
As if on cue, the master of shadow appears between Lloyd and I, knocking me backwards before shoving Lloyd to the ground; Lloyd drops his Jadeblade and the others kick it farther away. The master of light picks up the blade and continues to skate away from Lloyd. Jay quickly catches up and smacks the paleman in the chest, stealing back the blade and giving it to Lloyd.
"You didn't learn that in your Mother-Son Skate-Off, did you?" Lloyd says, grinning.
"It was a fierce competition, Lloyd," Jay yells, "and this isn't the time to judge. It's the time to skate faster!"
Ahead of us, Kai and Griffin crash to the ground; Lloyd, Jay and I jump over them, laughing gleefully. The master of poison creates a poison cloud and we dodge it, but Kai skates straight into it.
"Thanks for the warning."
"Release the buggy!" Chen yells.
A racecar with a tail zooms onto the field, knocking some of the others out of the way. Jay tackles Lloyd and I to the ground in order to dodge the vehicle. As it zooms by, Chamille grabs onto the tail and lets it pull her with it.
"She has the lead and gets a lift?" I hiss. "I know Chen wants you out, but this is ridiculous!"
Lloyd and I skate ahead, charging after the buggy, but it's far gone and before we know it, it's lapping us again. A trail of orange-helmeted people hang onto the tail and some of them let go to detour Lloyd and I. Jay tries to come to the rescue, but Griffin grabs ahold of him and uses his superspeed to pull Jay away. When he returns, he throws Jay into Lloyd and I.
"We are so not loved!" Jay groans.
"Alright, that's it!" I yell. I lift up my hands and suddenly, the entire arena freezes.
"Tasha, what did you just do?" Lloyd exclaims.
"I took away their ability to do work," I say darkly.
"But that's cheating!"
"No more than Chen's doing," I growl.
"But, Tasha," says Jay. "You just froze Chen, so he wont be able to give us points."
"I can fix that," I say, moving my right hand towards Chen.
"Just undo it!" Lloyd shouts.
I let out an aggravated sigh and close my hands into fists, allowing everyone to move freely again. Suddenly, Kai comes zooming past us, using his fire as rocket boosters. He crashes into Chamille and Jay steals her Jadeblade.
"Nice, Kai! Now you're cooking with fire!"
Kai lets out a groan in response and Chamille gets back up to chase Jay.
"I got it, you want it! Come and get it! Come and get it!" Jay taunts.
Chamille crashes into her teammates and Lloyd jumps over their pile. I let out a joyful laugh and skate backwards around them, blowing them a kiss as they get to their feet.
"Let's go, baby bro!" I shout, grabbing onto his hand and using my energy to propel us forward.
Chamille has got her blade back and she charges after Lloyd and I. We launch ourselves over a ramp and I use energy to knock her away; she falls flat on her ass.
"This isn't about Lloyd winning," says Jay as we catch back up to them. "It's about all of us stopping Chen."
"Why are you telling me this now?" Griffin asks with a scoff.
"Because it's never too late to do the right thing," Lloyd says.
"He's telling the truth," says Neuro. "I know."
"Then why have you now decided to help?" I ask, glaring.
"I'd rather be on the winning team."
"Then lets win this thing," says Lloyd.
Kai catches back up to us, but now he's driving the buggy.
"Need a lift?" he asks.
"You took the buggy!"
"We took the buggy." Then I see Skylar and my smile fades. "Quick, take the wheel."
Lloyd jumps into the car and takes off, leaving the rest of us in the dust. With it, he catches up to Chamille in no time. Every trap and obstacle Chen throws at him doesn't detour him at all. Eventually, he's on the lead lap again. Then he does something stupid: he offers his hand to Chamille and she pulls him out of the buggy. Lloyd gets back up and charges after her.
One of the cultists tries to change Lloyds score so that he is behind him.
"He's rigging the match!" Kai exclaims. He summons a ball of fire to his fists. "I'll stop him!"
"Let me," says Skylar and she uses her power to lift the number out of the man's hand.
Chamille and Lloyd use their blades to fight each other. Then they both trip and fall. Chamille gets up first, Lloyd quickly following behind her. They both cross the finish line as the buzzer goes off.
But Chamille had dropped her blade.
Lloyd wins.
~
This chapter was super fun to write. I hope you enjoyed and until next time, Wacky AWAY!
Word Count: 2391