The paddle boat whooshed towards the island as the ocean waves ruffled softly behind them, making the waves roll in.
Lacey leant against the railing, they were nearly there when she spots the mansion up ahead.
She let out a small sigh.
"Hey," Lloyd starts hesitatinly as he walks over to her, he stood next to her against the railing, a frown on his face.
"I'm still mad at you,"
Lloyd sighs at her response, he knows he should have told her but a part of him wanted to protect her. He didn't want to involve her in this, he didn't want her to get hurt.
And if this was a trap, she would save them and probably knock some sense into them.
He didn't need her getting hurt, he didn't want her getting hurt. A lot can happen in one night, he knew that from experience.
"I'm sorry Lace, but I didn't want you to get hurt."
"So what, you thought you could have all the fun and leave me?" Lacey questions, turning to him with a small glare.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "I was trying to protect you! I don't want you to fall into this trap, if it is, which I don't doubt for a second-"
"I could have helped you!" The Sorceress snaps. "I could have helped you,"
Lloyd sighs, he met her gaze. "I'm sorry." He said, but there was still a hint of annoyance.
Lacey stares at him for a few seconds before looking away. "No, I'm sorry. I know your trying to protect me Lloyd, and I love you for that, but I can handle myself. We don't need to be more divided than we already were," she sighs.
"Come here," Lloyd says and the two wrap their arms in an embrace. Lace sighs and takes a deep breath, he smelled of smoke and pinewood, he smelled like spring and summer.
"I love you," Lloyd mumbled. The Sorceress smiles. "I love you too," she replied quietly.
"Look at that," Cole spoke up, walking over as the lovers separated to spot the island. In front was a giant stone castle with guards everywhere. Their helmets were made of bones probably and they had purple tattoos on their body.
"Awesome." Kai mutters, staring in awe and surprise.
"Let me see," Karloff said walking over, pushing Kai over to the side. The master of Fire glared at him, shouting, "Do you mind!" Angrily as he glared at the Master of Metal.
The Elemental Masters all than walk down the board, getting off the boat and walking ahead while the Ninja lingered behind.
"Welcome to Chen's Island. The Tournament of Elements welcomes it's brave fighters. Master Chen will be pleased you've returned, Sensei Garmadon." Clouse said, turning to tye man with a sneer, he then turns around to leave.
"The pleasure is all mine, Clouse." Sensei Garmadon replied with a cold tone, glaring at he watched the man leave.
"I'm sure it is," Clouse mutters as he walks away, his goons trailing behind him.
Lacey watched him go with narrowed eyes, not trusting him one bit. He gave off a bad vibe, a really dark one at that. She could sense the dark magic on him, he used black magic.
Her guard was up, especially around here. She could see the other elementals glancing at them, no doubt knowing who they were. She didn't trust any of them.
Sure, they were Elemental Masters like them but they weren't Ninja, and ninja fought with and for honor. But seriously, what have they done for Ninjago? She shakes her head at the thought as Garmadon starts talking.
"Definitely feeling some tension between you two." Jay spoke up as they start walking towards the tall castle, or tall structure. Whatever, Lacey thought as she listened to the conversation at hand.
Kai nods, looking a bit confused. "Yeah, and how is it we're on an island I've never seen on any map?" He raised an eyebrow.
"And care to explain how the face to Ninjago's most popular noodle house is secretly assembling an underground fighting tournament?" Cole questions incredulously.
"Master Chen used to be a friend. Now he's a traitor. During the Serpentine Wars, Chen turned against his own kind and sided with the treacherous snakes." Garmadon told them, his voice having a slight edge to it.
Lloyd frowns,"The battle you and Uncle Wu fought together in? He was an enemy?" He asks in confusion.
"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." The Sensei explains with a shake of his head.
"He may have divided our ancestors, but he's not gonna divide us." Lloyd shakes his head, a determined look on his face.
Lacey only frowns. The group then start walking forward, the castle getting closer and closer. The Sorceress eyes it warily, spotting many guards with weird getups. The whole island looked suspicious, how could Zane be here?
She didn't get it.
Especially the stupid snake costumes, anacondrai to be exact. She scowls as she remembers a certain purple snake with annoyance, his drawing voice still in her head. Well, white snake now.
They're suddenly all pushed back as Kai turns to the redhead wearing a peach outfit and hood. "Uh...ladies first." He says, staring at her with hooded eyes, smiling widely.
The girl just walks by, ignoring them and just looks in front of her, looking uninterested.
"Fire will melt her icy heart. Just wait." Kai states as he watches her go, a determined look on his face. He watched the redhead go, a smile on his face.
Garmadon only sighs, shaking his head as he muttered something under his breath.
Lacey raises an eyebrow as they all start walking again. "Am I missing something?" She mumbles.
Jay leans towards her. "He likes her," he whispers.
Lacey blinks before she nods. "Ahh. Explains a lot." She clicks her tongue.
Cole looks around, his eyes narrowed. "This is a big island. Zane could be anywhere. Keep an eye out." He tells them.
"So this is the house that noodles built. Ha! Always wanted to go to a red carpet event." Jay laughs wryly.
"Jay...." Lacey says to one of her best friends, "Now is not the time." She shakes her head.
"Chen lives like a king. Here, he's totally self-sufficient. The only way on or off this island is with his permission, which you have to earn." Garmadon explains as they all walk closer to the looming stone castle.
"You never told me about this place. How do you know so much about this island?" Lloyd asked his father, his eyes narrowed, questioning his father.
"Because before Chen was my enemy, he was my Sensei." Garmadon then turns around and shows them his Anacondrai tattoo on his bare back.
Lacey stares at it with a frown, the purple snake tattoo taking half his back with red eyes. They all continue walking, entering the rather large mansion.
The Elemental Masters arrive inside the palace and sat in a circle. Lacey sits down next Lloyd, looking around the castle.
The floor was purple, obviously matching the Anacondrai colors, the walls were orange and a close color to peach. Different guards with snake tattoos and bone armor were stationed around.
Lacey sighs, something told her this was just the beginning of another adventure. She frowns when she spots a person near a stage, her whole body covered in a red cloak, her hood up.
Something told her that wasn't normal.
"You never told me you had a Sensei." Lloyd leans in to whisper to his father.
"When I was your age, I sought a darker means of guidance. He taught me to win at all cost, no matter who I hurt. It wasn't until you saved me that I saw the light." The Sensei smiles at his son, Lloyd smiles back.
Jay looks at them. "Uh, apparently he also never taught you to have a sense of humor. Lighten up, we're in an underground fight club. This is supposed to be fun." He grins.
Lacey only stares at him.
Zugu bangs a gong and Eyezor turns on a gramophone.
"All rise for Master Chen," Clouse calls out.
A chair, a throne most likely, comes up before turning around and revealing a man wearing a weird getup, like the guards all around. "Welcome to the Tournament of Elements. Now everyone can all di"-the door sudden closes and everyone gasps-"rect your attention to me!" He laughs maniacally.
Lacey takes a deep breath, shaking her head. Annoyance overtakes her at the man's stupid demeanor. Her eyes unwantingly trail towards the person in the red cloak and hood.
"I forgot to mention he has a penchant for theatrics." Garmadon whispers to Lloyd.
"Yeah, well. It's annoying," Lacey mumbles.
Chen laughs, looking at all of them. "Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior and a powerful Sorceress. And a former pupil has returned." He points to the gong. "This symbol before you is for the Anacondrai, fiercest Serpentine warrior to ever roam this land. Its creed: "Only one can remain."
Lacey thinks back to Pythor, he was the last remaining Anacondrai. Perhaps that what he thought, by maybe eating the rest of the clan. Only one can remain.
The gong moves aside, showing a bracket with everyone's picture stationed.
Kai leans towards his team, "Good, looks like we're each in our own bracket. We won't have to face each other for a while." He tells them, giving them a knowing look.
"Better find Zane before that happens." Lloyd mutters.
"Behold, a Jadeblade. 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." Chen laughs.
"Hm, what does Karlof win?" Karloff asks.
"Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams, and lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodle. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!" Chen exclaimed.
Everyone but the ninja cheer.
"And what happens if they lose?" Garmadon questions, his eyes holding suspicion.
"Lose?" Chen asks, like the question itself was absurd. "Who here likes to lose?" Everyone but the ninja laugh. "Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun happy place. Hahaha. Fun time on me."
"You'll now each be shown to your rooms," Clouse turns and claps his hands, the doors opening to reveal women covered in heavy makeup and wearing traditional kimonos.
They all walk around the room before they grabbed an Elemental Master's wrist, showing them to their room.
"Ah, just what this place needs. " Jay says, eyeing them strangely. "Creepy clowns." He grumbles.
"Not clowns. Kabuki, Chen's jesters." Garmadon answers, glancing at his son's friends and team.
"Yeah, well, whatever they are, I don't like 'em." Cole says, the lady pulling him away as Garmadon watched them all go. "So much for staying together," The Master of Earth mutters.
Lloyd manages to grab Lacey's wrist, she yelps, as he's forcefully taken up the stairs. The Kabuki doesn't even glance at her once.
"Always be ready." Garmadon calls out, "Never lose focus." He says as Clouse begins to pull him out of the room with a scowl.
"What?" Kai calls out, on the top floor. "What did he say?"
"I don't know." Jay said confused, from the floor above him, "Something about, uh, mucus?"
"No!" Lacey calls out, almost at Lloyd's room. "Staying together!" She shakes her head at their stupidity.
***
"Yeah, this is sweet. Heh, heh." Lloyd chuckles, looking into the mirror in his room. He wore a new Green Gi, if Lacey could even call it that.
Their were no sleeves and it was tighter than the other Gi's, leaving little to the imagination. It showed off most of the muscles, and his abs. The Sorceress was sure the other guys had the same.
She eyes it, her cheeks pink. She clears her throat and looks away.
Lacey shakes her head, and gets up from the bed, walking out towards the balcony. She looks to the side, but sees no one.
Lloyd looks behind him to a see a picture of the team, back when he and Lacey were younger. He missed those days.
"Don't worry. We're gonna find you, pal." He sighs. Lloyd then looks over to Lacey, he walks over towards her so they're both on the balcony. "You okay?"
Lacey looks up, a deadpan expression on her face. She raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
"Does everything look okay? We're in a underground tournament with almost every Elemental Master known in the universe, a evil manic has quite literally, most likely, locked us up on this island and we have no choice to play in his stupid games, I'm feeling weird, Zane is still missing and I have a bad feeling about that unknown women under that cloak," she huffs, taking deep breaths.
Lloyd stares at her, frowning deeply. "Lace...." he starts hesitatinly, watching her walk back into the room. He follows after her.
"No, don't." Lacey shakes her head. "I've been having weird vibes, even before all of...this," she gestures to the room.
Lloyd stares at her, concerned. She had been waking up with screams leaving her, always jolting up with horror on her face. These future dreams were getting more problematic, she was having night terrors almost every single night.
Most nights she couldn't sleep in her room, all alone. So Lloyd slept with her, or she slept with him in his room. But she almost always woke up with terror on her face, screaming loudly for the whole Monastery to hear.
Even his Father was getting concerned as Lacey always had eyebags under her eyes, she was always sluggish and most of the time, she was tired.
Wu had made her some calming tea to help her sleep better at night, and it did kinda work. But Lloyd felt like this was something more.
"What do you mean?" He asks hesitatinly, staring at her, worried.
Lacey shakes her head. She couldn't really tell anyone about her dreams, they'd think she was crazy. She didn't remember most of them, but the ones she did, they were super weird. Most of them were about 4 other women.
A redhead and three brunettes. And strangely, she was in them too, helping them most of the time. With the brunettes, not the redhead. Not really no. She really needs to start doing research about her dreams and writing everything down. Who knows? Perhaps it will be helpful one day.
Outside the palace, Garmadon is roughly pushed our by Clouse.
"Since you weren't invited by Master Chen," He drawls. "I'm sorry to say there's no room for you." He says, albeit a bit smugly, a small smirk on his lips.
"Fine," Garmadon crosses his arms, I'll just stand guard. I wouldn't want anything to happen to them. I know how you like to use dark magic." He narrowed his eyes at Clouse.
"Now, why would I want to cheat the Ninja?" Clouse asks, before slamming the door in the Sensei's face.
A horn is than blared as Garmadon starts climbing up the fence. "Fellow fighters, hidden around my island are enough Jade Blades for every participant except for one." He announced on the P.A "The one who returns to the Palace Arena empty-handed, loses. The Tournament begins...now!"
****
Lacey's eyes snap towards Lloyd.
"Go," She nods frantically at him, Lloyd quickly runs out.
Lacey bites her lip, she didn't want to cheat but was it really cheating if she wasn't in the game? She could help the Ninja with her magic, and in no time, they could find Zane.
They weren't even here for anything, especially the glory since they were already partly famous. They didn't need more glory, and something told here that Chen wasn't telling the truth entirely.
The Sorceress debates for a few seconds before running out. "Oh, fuck it." She mutters, and stops when she sees chaos happening.
All the floors were red, obviously with purple accents with all the Elemental Masters, it was mixed colors.
They were all fighting on different floors, fist fighting or even using their powers. Chen may be an idiot, and somewhat a drama king, but he was a genius. A evil genius. Ha, that reminds her of Brad and Gene.
"Uh oh," The Brunette mutters, her crystal blue eyes watching the whole room fighting. She frowns when she sees Lloyd fighting and failing against the Master of Smoke. He than begins fist fighting with Jacob, Master of Sound.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Cole emerging from his room, holding his stomach. She rolls her eyes, figures, of course he'd have food in his room and eat all of it.
"I can't fight on a full stomach." Cole groans, looking around before spotting a Jade Blade in a vase on the floor below. He grins. "All right!" He exclaimed and begins slowly walking over to it.
Dumb move as Griffen Turner speeds over and grabs it. "Ha! Too slow, rocky boy." He grins
"Hey!" Cole said, looking appalled.
Lacey sighs and shakes her head, smacking her forehead on the railing repeatedly.
Her head snaps up when she sees Lloyd almost getting a Jade Blade.
"Seekar..." Clouse mutters, holding his hand up, it was glowing a sickly dark purple color.
The Sorceress frowns, her eyebrows furrowing as the snake design on the carpet starts to grab his leg, making it unable to grab the Jade Blade.
"Wha--? Hey!" Lloyd yells, shaking his leg. The snake was like a vine, it wouldn't let go.
"What the hell?" She mutters in confusion, was dark magic that powerful? Her heart starts racing as she eyed it with some interest.
Garmadon is walking up the stairs when he sees what's going on. "Lacey!" He yells, grabbing her attention.
Lacey's head snap towards him, following his voice and seeing him push Clouse back. The two start fighting. Her lips part, Clouse was doing the magic.
Her eyes narrow.
"Hurry, Lloyd, you must not lose!" Garmadon calls out to his son, pining Clouse, who growls and tries to push him off.
Lloyd grabs the Jade Blade, a smile on his face. Lacey sighs in relief. She turns to look at Cole, who had pushed back multiple Masters for a Blade.
"It's mine!" Cole yells before groaning, "Oh, stomach cramp." He holds his stomach, leaning over and grunting.
The Master of Light turns invisible before he grabs the Jade Blade, Cole having no idea as he follows him. But the man gets it anyway, even though Cole uses Spinjitzu. Gravis, the Master of Gravity taking it.
"Hey, that's mine!" Cole yells out.
Lacey sighs, shaking her head. "Cole!" She yells and he turns to her. She points at bench, underneath it was a Jade Blade.
"All right," He grins, glancing at the Sorceress. "Thanks, Lace." He says before grabbing it and running out.
"No! Dad!" Lloyd all of sudden yells, on the bottom floor. Lacey's head snaps towards Clouse and sees him push Garmadon down the railing.
Her eyes widen and on reflex, she holds her hand up. "Vineis!" She yells and just as he falls, green vines start to grow out of the ground, catching him. Lacey runs towards him to help him up, her eyes on her Sensei.
Lloyd sighs in relief. Many of the Elemental Masters even turn to look, surprise on their faces.
"Sensei G!" Lacey yells, now above him near the railing and a few feet away from Clouse, who growls angrily.
Garmadon only laughs in delight as the vines slowly bring him up, gently holding him. He chuckles and shakes his head, letting out a small sigh in relief.
"No," Clouse growls. "Seekar..." he starts, holding his hands up in front of Lacey but the Sorceress is quicker. She turns around and aims her hands at him, waving them in different motions.
"Abi!" She yells and Clouse crashes back against the wall, the Telekinesis spell rendering him with pain for a few moments.
Lacey pulls Garmadon up, grabbing his hands and grunting. She stands in front of him before turning to Clouse with an angry glare.
Lloyd sighs, "Thank you, Lace." He mutters.
"How cute," Clouse says getting up. "You need a little girl, to protect you, Garmadon." He sneers, letting out a scoff.
Lacey clenched her fists.
Garmadon glares at Clouse. "Don't say anything against my daughter-in-law," he states coldly.
Lacey blinks, her face flushing as she turns to him with a wide eyed look. Clouse only scoffs, shaking his head before walking away quickly.
...♥︎...
After that fiasco, they all stood in the arena. Lacey waiting with the others next to her, worried as Cole and Kai hadn't arrived yet.
"Two Jadeblades remaining." Clouse calls out, still grumpy about the fact that a little girl beat him.
"Wait! I got one!" Cole yells, running in the arena, out of breath.
"Cole! Whoo-hoo! You made it." Jay cheers, grinning at his best friend.
"Where's Kai?" Cole asks confused, looking around for that hothead.
Karlof walks in with the Jadeblade.
Karlof laughs. "Hahaha! Karlof wins!" Everyone except the ninja cheer. Kai sneaks up behind him and unscrews his metal hand. "What?"
Kai smirks. "Ah, looks like you got a screw loose." Kai steals it and puts it in the holder. Everyone except Garmadon and Lacey cheer.
"We have a loser!" Chen exclaimed.
Karlof puts his hand back. "That's not fair. He cheated."
"I did what I had to do." Kai shrugs.
"That is not how you win." Garmadon shakes his head, disappointed and annoyed as Lacey only stays quiet.
"Fine, I lose. Karlof never wanted to be on stinking island." He scoffs.
Chen looks at him, a evil glint in his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear you did not enjoy your stay. I guess this worked out for the best. This is goodbye!" He pushes a button, activating a trapdoor under Karlof. He screams as he falls. "As you can see, lose and you are out. Break any rule, you are out. Never bite the hand that feeds you Master Chen delicious noodle! Now rest up. Tomorrow the tournament will recommence."
Lacey only stares where Karlof stood in horror, what was going to happen to him?
__
__
__
The next morning, they all sat around the booth, eating food.
Cole sighs, happily eating the food. "At least the crow's good." He takes big bites while Lacey watches him, sitting next to Garmadon and in front of Lloyd.
"Argh! It's killing me." Jay whines, playing around with his chopsticks.
"What's under the trap door? What happens when you lose?"
"Don't think about that," Garmadon tells him.
"It's all I can think about." Jay answered, turning to him. "I moved on. I feel guilt." He sighs. "These are not good feelings."
"You think you feel bad?" Kai asks, still feeling guilty to what he did to Karloff. "Imagine how I feel. Our mission is simple. Tonight we find Zane and get off this crazy island." He nods.
"Amd just how are we supposed to do that?" Cole questions incredulously. "You heard Chen, break a rule and we're out. He's not gonna let us roam around."
"Then it's a good thing we're Ninja." Kai states. "Meet me in my room at midnight."
Mr. Pale comes over, holding a tray. "You mind if I join you?" He asks. Lacey opens her mouth to politely decline but Jay beats her to it. Differently.
"Disappear, pal! This is private." Mr. Pale uses his Light. Jay sighs. "I know you're still here. I can see your lunch tray."
The Master of Light walks away as Jay watches him go with a narrowed gaze.
"Wow, Jay, you were really mean." Cole tells him.
"Yeah, really mean." Lacey frowns.
"How am I supposed to know if we can trust him?" Jay exclaims, "See what this island is doing to me? It's corrupting me! It has to stop. I'll see you tonight."
At midnight, Kai opens his door to let Lloyd, Cole and Lacey in. However, Jay came in right when Skylor goes to her balcony. Kai pushes him, causing Jay to yell.
"What was that you said?" Skylor asks.
"Uh, I said w-w-what a beautiful night. Haha." Kai laughs nervously.
Jay manages to hold on to the ledge. "Oh, come on." He groans quietly.
"What do you think happened to Karlof?" Skylor asks.
From inside Kai's room, Lacey looks around the red colored room. She scrunchs her nose up when she sees many mirrors and a few portraits hung up. She knew Kai was arrogant, but not this much.
"This takes the cake," she mutters.
Cole perks up, looking at her. "Cake? Where?!"
Lacey only shakes her head.
"I feel horrible. If I had known what would happen-"
"You did what you had to do to stay in the Tournament. I'm sorry if I was cold to you earlier."
"Psst."
"Maybe it's good to have friends."
"Kai!"
"Jay, would you stop making that noise?"
"You had asked about my power-"
"Uh, yeah, oh, it's so cold out. Better call it a night, hehe."
"Oh, okay. Sorry to have bothered-"
Kai pokes his head out the door. "Oh, okay. Good night." He goes back in and waits for Skylor to go inside. He then helps Jay.
"You just had to leave me hanging, huh, Romeo?" Jay asks, raising ane eyebrow.
They both then go inside.
"Whoa-ho-ho-ho. Nice digs." Jay whistles with a chuckle.
Cole nods, frowning deeply. "I know. His room is so much nicer than mine. Look, chocolate-covered shell peas. I love these." He takes the bowl and jumps on his bed. "Oh, and look how soft your pillows are. Man, mine are made of rock. What a crock." He scowls.
Lacey rolls her eyes as Lloyd stands up.
"Okay, it was almost impossible to get here. This place is swarming with guards. Any ideas on how we search the island?" Jay asks, looking at them.
"We travel by shadow." Kai says. "Cover every square inch of this place until we find him."
"The island's big. We'll need to split up." Jay says.
Lloyd shakes his head. "No, we stick together."
"Yeah," Lacey nods. "We're better united than split apart,"
"Isn't that from a movie?" Jay asks her.
Lacey only gives him a look.
"Uh, guys, this bed is, uh..." Cole starts, unsure as he stares at the bed.
Kai turns to him, annoyed. "Cole, I get it! You like my bed. Would you stop playing around?" He snaps.
Cole only smiles. "I think I know how we can search the island."
The ninja all lie down on the bed, Lacey next to Lloyd. She frowns and moves around, well, Cole was kinda right. Kai's pillows were soft, she could sleep here forever. It was comfortable.
"Okay, I feel ridiculous." Lloyd said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Ah, you're right. The pillows are soft." Jay sighs dreamily, getting more comfortable.
"Is this a joke?" Lloyd asks and sits up slightly, on his elbows.
Cole looks at them. "I must've done something to trigger it. I was laying here, then I stretched," -The bed flips over again.
They all yell and then gasp. They grab onto the bed sheets, hanging on as a tunnel, dark and hollow, is beneath them.
Lacey sqeals before jumping down and landing on the stone floor.
Jay grins widely. "Whoa! Secret passageway! Cool."
Kai uses his Fire to light up the passageway. "Nice work, Cole. Maybe Zane's not on the island, but in it."
They all then start walking forward, the passageway is old and maybe, unused.
The Sorceress looks around, seeing a few specks of light upwards. They than hear grunting, as if someone was fighting? Or perhaps training?
Lloyd looks around. "Quiet. Do you hear that?" He asks.
Jay looks up and sees light coming from two holes. "Oh, secret peep holes. Haha! Super cool. Sounds like someone's fighting on the other side of this wall." He climbs up and looks through.
Lacey scrunchs up her nose. Rude, this was an invasion of someone's privacy.
"What do you see? Who's fighting?" Cole said, looking up at the Master of Lightning.
Jay shakes his head. "It's not a fight. It's Skylor's room. And it looks like she's training."
Kai immediately extinguishes his Fire. "Let me see, let me see!" He exclaims and climbs up, pushing Jay aside.
"Pervert," Lacey mutters, shaking her head.
"Ah, looks like Kai's got the hots for her." Cole says looking up at him with a grin while Lloyd smirks.
"No, she's competition." Kai denies. "I just wanna know what powers we're up against." He tries to use the peep holes, pushing Jay back.
Jay grunts, pushing him back. "Ugh, wait your turn."
"We can at least share." Kai tells him.
"Guys, this is an invasion of privacy." Lloyd whispers loudly.
Kai groans. "Ugh, her room doesn't reveal anything about her power."
Jay gasps, suddenly as he and Kai stare at each other with wide eyes.
"What was it? What did you see?" Cole asks, looking between them.
Kai whispers. "She's...Fire..." he trails off.
Lloyd blinks. "Wait a minute, if we're all descendants of Elemental Masters..." he starts.
Cole bursts out laughing and sings. "Kai's heart is on fire. Kai's heart is on fire. Kai's heart is on fire." He claps his hands, jumping excitedly.
Lacey joins in, cackling loudly. "Sweet Home Alabama." She shakes her head.
Kai glares at the duo. "Can we please just keep moving? It's like a maze down here." He jumps down with Jay following, they all start walking. "Good thing you're leaving a trail back to our room."
Cole frowns in confusion. "I'm what?" He looks behind him and sees his chocolate shell peas. "Oh, yeah, heh. I meant to do that."
Lacey grabs a few, eating as she hadn't eaten since this morning.
They walk down farther until Lloyd sees a tripwire. "Everyone stop! Booby traps." He points out, kneeling down.
Jay laughs. "Haha! Booby traps. Even cooler. Haha." Lloyd stares at him with narrowed eyes, with Lacey raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, kinda cool. I mean, they're totally not cool, you know, 'cause they're dangerous." Jay nods convincingly, chuckling nervously.
"From here on out, we have to watch our step." Lloyd tells them, standing up.
Kai than hears chanting. "Do you hear that? Everyone be quiet." He says.
They all hide behind a rock, before spotting the Anacondrai guards. They each fight an Anacondrai Cultist and take their outfits.
"We'll get caught," Lacey says, looking at the boys. She sighs and shakes her head.
"Then you'll say, I told you so." Jay tells her, giving her a knowing look. She only frowns.
They follow the other guards to Chen's ceremony.
"Stop licking your tattoos." Kai scolds the rock head, all of them behind the other cultists in a giant room.
Lacey sees many figurines and stone statues of Anacondrai, many things like candles and other creepy stuff was put out. This was just downright creepy and obsessive.
"It's chocolate. I can't resist." Cole shakes his head. Of course he couldn't.
"Shush!" Lacey hisses at them, they all flinch at her tone. Safe to say was that she was the real leader of this group.
Lloyd looks at them. "Shh! Just try to fit in." They chant with the Warriors.
Lacey's eyes widen slightly, they were chanting in Latin, and she knew Latin as she was a Night Sorceress. Almost all original spells were in Latin, this was a ceremony to extract something. But what?
"Bring out the loser." Chen orders loudly.
Karlof grunts. "Unh! Get hands off Karlof! Karlof wish he never sign up for this. What's chanting for?" He asks, frowning.
"Uh, they're saying "only one can remain." Like I said, use it or lose it." Chen tells him before raising a weird looking staff, he holds it up as silver power is extracted from Karlof. His Elemental Power of Metal is immediately gone.
Kai stares ahead, his eyes wide. "He's stolen Karlof's power." He whispers quietly.
"And he used Ice. That means he must have already stolen Zane's power too." Cole whispers back.
Karlof looks at himself. "What happened to my Metal?"
Lacey's eyes widen. He was stealing Elemental Powers!
Chen smirks. "Your Metal? Oh, it's mine now." He laughs. "But now I will let you go."
"Really?"
"To the factory!"
"No, no! Let Karlof go! No, no!"
Lloyd looks at his friends. "Jay, your face..." he starts, before looking at Lacey.
Jay gasps. "My face? All of our faces! The chocolate's melting."
"Oh, no." Lacey mutters.
"Who are they?" A warrior says looking at them.
Chen turns around. "Intruders! Stop them! They must not escape!" He yells.
As they run away, Cole trips on the tripwire, closing the door on the Warriors.
Kai cheers. "A-ha! Yes!" Another traps activates. "Oh, no!" He mutters as they run away.
"Run faster!" Lacey yells.
"We're trying!" Jay screams back.
"Now might not be good time to say it, but, I told you so!" Lacey screeched.
"Ugh!" Jay only groans, shaking his head.
Cole sighs when they see no more guards. "That was close." He mutters before they hear growling.
"What now?" Lacey whines, tired and sleepy. Her whole body was aching and she just wanted to sleep.
"That sound." Jay says. They see a serpent below them, staring right at them with glowing red eyes.
"That has got to be the second biggest snake I have ever seen!" Kai yells and they climb up, all trapped in a hollow corner.
Lacey closes her eyes, panting as she hears the snake getting closer. Somehow, they all fall and reenter Kai's room, falling on his bed, all on top of each other. True friends, people, true friends.
"Are we..." Kai starts, breathing heavily
"Yeah, barely." Lloyd says, grunting.
"Did we just-ow!" Cole groans when Lacey moves off of him.
"No more sneaking around. From now on, let's just follow the rules." Jay nods, getting out the bed.
Kai gets up. "Unh! We may not have found Zane, but we found something just as important. This tournament isn't about glory. It's about Chen stealing all of our Elemental Powers."
Lacey frowns. "But why? What is he planning?" She shakes her head.
"I don't know, but if we're gonna find out and find Zane, we have to play by his rules. Agreed?" Kai asks, looking at all of them.
"Agreed." They all nod.
"Good thing we weren't spotted. That was close," Cole points out.
"Yeah, too close." Jay turns around to see a part of a cloth ripped out.
Lacey frowns. Something told her this was bigger than what they thought, especially as how Chen stole the Elemental Powers.
****
Yay! Finally!
I am so sorry for the delay of the chapter!
Fun fact: I will be doing a crossover with my other books, like Imprint, but if you want more Info on that, go to Ninjago AU, Multiverse: Earths.
All my books will be interconnected, like Dusk Till Dawn, Sweet But Psycho, Imprint, and others I have not published yet. But the ones mentioned, I will be making oneshots in Ninjago extras.
Anyway, see you later!
𝓐𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓪
❤️🔥
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