There was nothing but white, and he could feel nothing but the biting sting of the cold surrounding him. A man made of pure titanium looked out at the frozen tundra, unsure of what he was doing there, or how he got there in the first place.
But just then, he heard a voice. A soft gentle voice laughing. He looked forward, seeing someone in the distance.
"Hello?" He asked, but the stranger ran away as if scared by his call, "Wait! Please, can you tell me where I am?"
He began running, but the ice beneath his feet broke, making him fall into a deep cavern made of pure ice and losing his arm for a moment. He quickly took his arm back and placed into his shoulder. However, he wasn't alone. No, it wasn't the stranger that he saw before, but instead a great beast coming from the darkness of the cage.
A large white and blue dragon appeared, roaring at the man as a large chain was wrapped around its neck, preventing any chance of escape. The man frantically looked around for a way out, when a voice called to him.
"Zane? Are you still there?" Zane looked up and saw a falcon at the top near the hole where he fell from, "If you can hear me, wake up! You need to wake up."
Zane gasped as he opened his eyes, breaking free from his nightmare.
"It was only a dream." He sighed.
"It's amazing you dream." The same voice, PIXAL, said from the cell next to his, "I've always wondered what it's like. You've always been special."
"Where am I? Who are you?"
"I'm PIXAL, a friend." PIXAL answered, "And you're in danger and have to get out of here. Your memory drive is out of sorts and your elemental power..."
"Elemental power?" Zane questioned, pulling at the chains.
"You're a nindroid, Zane, a ninja. And your friends are here to save you and Anirei. But they can't do it all. You have to remember who you are."
"Friends? Anirei?"
"Remember, Zane. You and Anirei saved your friends, and then you rebuilt yourself. There are things about you that you don't understand. That you have yet to discover. But if we're ever going to get out of here, you have to remember."
"PIXAL." Zane gasped, remembering just a little bit about her, "We are compatible?"
"Yes, Zane. Yes, we are."
Zane sighed in relief, but then remembered the face of the little sister he lost. Anirei. Was she the one who was in his dream? The stranger that ran from him?
He didn't know, but what he did know was that he had to leave and get her back. Something in the back of his mind told him that she was in great danger and that she was badly hurt.
~~~~
It was just after dawn when all of the Elemental Masters gathered in the dining hall for breakfast, the chatter of all the masters could be softly heard as they all wondered what today's challenge would be, and who would be eliminated from the tournament.
"Next!" One of the chefs said just as Garmadon and Lloyd moved up the line, "Uh-uh, nothing for you."
"There's a valuable lesson here, son." Garmadon said, "If you turn your back on your first evil sensei you in an effort to go straight, you may not be served creamy biscuits."
"Well, I know what we are being served." Lloyd said as his father left him, "A while bunch of baloney. This isn't a tournament, it's an alibi to steal everyone's powers. But we still don't know why."
"Isn't it obvious?" Kai said, "Chen wants to destroy New Ninjago City. I don't know what it is, but that place has had a string of bad luck."
"I'm not so sure." Cole countered, "From what Sensei G's told us about him, I have a feeling it's something far more sinister. Especially if he has Anirei somewhere on this island. She's powerful, and if he's planning something, it has to be something that includes her."
"And that reminds me about how we still don't know where Zane and Anirei are. Which is why we all need to take care of our first rounds to give us more time."
Cole stared at Jay, who was still wearing his pajamas, a robe and a sleep mask.
"Don't look at me. I've already moved on."
"Your opponent got himself kicked out." Cole reminded.
"Ha, ha. Either way, it's my day off. Extra creamy biscuits. And don't skimp."
Cole growled and walked away, tired of Jay's aloof attitude, "Taking a day off? And here I thought ninja never quit."
"And I used to think a ninja wouldn't steal your girlfriend." Jay shot back.
"Whatever you have to say to each other, say it now, because harboring grudges hurts no one but yourself." Garmadon said calmly.
"He's right." Lloyd agreed with his father, "You should be preparing to fight your next opponent, not each other."
"What grudge? I already dropped it." Cole claimed.
"I dropped it first." Jay claimed.
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Excuse me." A voice said behind them. They turned around and saw Reanii standing there with her tray of little food.
"If you want to continue your argument, can you please not do it in the middle of the floor?" She said, then walked right past them to her table to sit with Skylar. And yet, the boys just continued arguing until they food hit the floor in their scuffle.
"This tournament will test them, Lloyd." Garmadon stated, "Either find a way for them to make peace, or neither of them will move on."
Suddenly, everyone heard a loud gong coming through the PA system.
"The Tournament of Elements continues. Fun time!" Chen announced, "Would the following Masters please make their way to their assigned arena? Speed, Gravity, Smoke, Nature, Mind, oh, and last but hopefully not least...."
"Huh, maybe we all got the day off."Jay chuckled.
"Fire!" Kai gasped hearing that he was the first of the ninja to participate in the tournament battles.
"Remember, only one can remain."
Everyone quickly finished their food and went off to the first battle of the Tournament.
~~~~
The masters who were not fighting at the moment sat in the stands as a man banged the drums to signify the beginning of the match. The Master of Speed, Griffin Turner, and the Master of Gravity, Gravis, stood underneath a rose blossom tree at the edge of a very steep cliff.
The Jade Blade was sitting at the very top of the tree, waiting to be taken by the winner.
"Turner, Master of Speed versus Gravis, Master of Gravity." Chen announded, "Fight!"
Griffin quickly took off using his speed to race up to take the blade from the top. It gave him a head start, but Gravis used gravity to simply levitate himself up to where Griffin was. Griffin didn't give up and ran even faster.
"Who do think is going to win, Reanii?" Skylar asked her friend, Lloyd hearing their conversation.
"The Master of speed is fast, but sometimes quick thinking without clear thought can cause you to make mistakes. However, gravity is a picky thing and can't always help you when you need it the most. I vote, Master of Speed for this fight." Reanii said.
Lloyd was surprised by her vote, but continued to watch the match to see what would happen.
Griffin thought to use his speed to his advantage and ran to different trees in order to confuse Gravis. But his plan backfired as Gravis pinned Griffin to one of the branches using the blossoms from the tree. Griffin had enough and escaped the blossoms before speeding up to the top and grabbing the Jade Blade, securing his victory.
"Winner!" Chen announced, "Loser."
Chen pressed a trap door button, but Gravis was in the air. Only for a short time however as a sand bag hit him in the back of the head and forced him down the trap door.
They then moved to the second match between the master of the mind, and the master of nature. The Jade Blade sitting at the top of the largest boulder.
"Neuro, Master of Mind versus Bolobo, Master of Nature! Fight!"
Neuro quickly began to the fight, using his power to read Bolobo's mind.
"They call this a fight?" Lloyd shouted.
"Wait for it." Garmadon said.
Neuro saw what Bolobo was planning to do, and when the time was right, several vines sprung up from the ground. Neuro used that to his advantage and used the vines to spring up towards the top of the boulder. Bolobo used his vines to rush after Neuro, trapping him with his vines. But Neuro used his powers to confuse Bolobo and in turn, he was released.
"Never underestimate the power of the mind." Garmadon said.
"The mind can be sharper than stone, something that nature cannot always bend. The winner shall be Neuro, Master of Mind." Lloyd heard Reanii say softly.
Bolobo acted fast and trapped Neuro in a multitude of vines.
"I didn't see that coming." Neuro grunted as he was pulled back by the vines.
"In man vs. nature, nature usually wins." Lloyd stated.
Bolobo laughed, thinking that he had won the battle, but Neuro used his power to give him a large headache, allowing him to to climb the vines Bolobo was going to use to get the Jade Blade, and achieved his victory.
"Winner! Loser." Chen used his trap doors and Bolobo disappeared below.
~~~~
Finally, on a bridge hanging over a fierce volcano, stood Kai, Master of Fire and Ash, Master of Smoke, the Jade Blade being in the center of the wooden bridge.
"Kai, Master of Fire versus Ash, Master of Smoke! Fight!"
Kai started by going straight for the blade, Ash flipped over the bridge, causing it to shake and the blade to fall while Kai hung off the lopsided bridge. Kai used the planks to get closer to Ash, who was already rushing to get the blade.
"Come on, Kai, you can do it." Lloyd cheered on.
"You're right." Reanii said, "Smoke is a sign of a fire's strength. Kai will win and Ash will disappear." Lloyd was still confused about who this girl was. She had answered the winners of every match from the start and wasn't wrong about any of them. But how?
Kai jumped back over to the top of the bridge and tried to kick Ash, but the Master of Smoke did what he did best and disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Kai miss him.
Ash laughed and shot smoke at Kai and Kai retaliated with another kick, but Ash dodged it yet again using his smoke. Kai tried to hit him over and over again, but each attempt was useless if Ash kept turning into smoke. Kai hung onto the bridge's planks tightly, trying to steer clear of falling into the boiling raging lava below. He swung himself back over the bridge using hin Spinjitzu, and pushed Ash back.
Kai shot several fireballs as Ash, but he dodged every one of them, the bridge burning instead of him. Eventually, there was too much fire on the bridge and it began to break. The two fighters jumped off the bridge and landed on the rocks that stuck out from the lava near the Jade Blade. The two jumped into the air and exchanged blows. Ash jumped away, disappearing into smoke to try and reappear near the Jade Blade, but when he did reappear, Kai shot fireballs at him before jumping towards the Jade Blade. Ahs didn't know what he had done until Kai stood proudly with the Jade Blade in his hand.
"Winner!" Chen announced and the crowd cheered happily, "Loser."
Ash disappeared down the trap door as all the others who had lost did before.
~~~~
The fighters in the tournament were allowed a time to rest for a while. Chen enjoyed the performance made by his Kabuki in his private area, but Clouse was more than on edge.
"Master, it was the ninja who snuck into our ceremony, yet we allow them to move forward." Clouse said, then lit a dark purple flame in his hand, "I beg you, let me use my sorcery and put an end to this."
"We'll use your magic in time, but not now." Chen said, "Not when there are other ways to whittle them down."
Just then, a knock came to Chen's large door.
"Ahh, there is it. Come in, come in. I hope you have great news." The door opened and revealed Reanii with her cloak covering her more than usual.
She walked up to Chen and bowed on one knee.
"So, my dear, what have you brought for me today? Any good news about those foolish ninja?"
Reanii nodded, "Master, I am glad to inform you about a crack in their teamwork."
"A crack you say?" Clouse asked, "And what might that be?"
"The Ninja of Earth and the Ninja of Lightning have a crack in their relationship so wide it could be comparable to Scatter Canyon." Reanii said.
"I see, well then, I'd say it's time to switch things up a bit." Chen laughed with Clouse.
Reanii stood up and bowed again,"Pardon me, but I must get my rest. After all, one cannot be ready to battle without proper rest."
"Of course, as you wish Reanii. Don't forget to take your medication before you sleep tonight."
"Yes, Master Chen." Reanii quickly left as Clouse scowled at her from behind.
"Master, why exactly do we need her? She's so weak it's almost laughable." Clouse said.
"Clouse, she is the only one that gain the trust of the others and find out their weaknesses. Let her stay in the tournament and she will be the only one remaining."
"What about that girl, Anirei? If she finds--"
"Oh, Clouse, you worry too much. I have everything under control." Chen smirked, his plan whirling in his mind.
~~~~~
Later on that evening, an announcement was made on the board. The Ninja and Garmadon walked down the stairs and saw the commotion, but when they saw the pairing board for the next match, they were all speechless.
Jay and Cole were paired up next to fight each other.
"No. He can't do this." Cole said.
"He already did." Lloyd said.
"We gotta fight each other."
It was almost too hard to believe for any of the Ninja. One of them would advance while the other vanishes. And now that they know what happens to the losers in each match, one of them would be losing their elemental powers.
"Why does it say I have to fight Cole?" Jay asked, "It didn't say that before. I'm not ready to fight. It was supposed to be my day off."
"I tried to warn you, but you never listen." Cole shouted at Jay, "Talk? Yes. Listen? Not so much."
"Is there a problem, ninja?" Clouse asked as the other fighters left.
"You cheated! You changed the brackets." Cole accused.
"Oopsie." Clouse laughed and walked away with a smile on his face.
"What do we do?" Lloyd asked his father, "They can't fight each other. Anirei told us to stay balanced and whole in my dream. We can't be pulled further apart than we already are."
"You can't undo what's been done." Garmadon stated, "My only advice is to be at peace with it."
"Peace?!" Jay pushed past the others, "One of us has to lose! Oh my gosh, it's totally gonna be me. He's got super strength and what do I have? Quick, tell me! What do I have?"
"Don't listen to my dad." Lloyd said to calm his friend down, "We find Zane and Rei then none of us have to battle. Your fight isn't until tonight so we still have time to figure what Chen's up to and stop this."
"I think I know just the person who can help and I think he already knows." Kai said.
Later that night, they went to the gardens and met with Neuro, Master of Mind. He was meditating on a rock near the water.
"We need your help, Neuro." Lloyd said.
"You think I can get close to Chen to read his mind, so you can find your robotic friend and your little silver haired girlfriend so none of you have to fight." Neuro stated.
"She's not my girlfriend." Lloyd denied quietly.
"Don't forget..."
"You still need to know what Chen's up to because he's hiding something." Neuro cut Kai off.
"That's pretty impressive, Nerdo." Jay said.
"It's Neuro, Master of the Mind." Neuro corrected, "And Cole thinks Jay won't last long in a fight."
"Pfft. You think that?" Jay asked Cole.
"You just said it yourself."
"But you didn't have to believe it." Jay pushed Cole.
"Don't be offended, Cole. Jay here thinks you're the least valuable ninja." Neuro said.
"You don't say!" Cole said shoving Jay.
"We wanted you to help, Neuro, not make things worse." Lloyd said breaking the two ninja apart.
"But why would I help? You're competition. The sooner you're out, the better for me."
"If you want what's best for you, just look into my head and you'll see what this tournament is all about."
Neuro did just that and saw the memory of Chen taking away Karlof's elemental power, his own mind shaken by the harsh reality of what this tournament is.
"It's only a matter of time before Chen steals your power too." Lloyd said, "So, are you in?"
Neuro thought for a moment, and agreed before he began to walk away, but before he left, he turned back to the Ninja.
"Oh, and one more thing." He said, "That girl, the one with the cloak and hood all the time? Be careful around her."
"Why?" Kai asked, "She seems really nice and sweet."
"I don't trust anyone whose mind I can't read." And with that, Neuro left them to think, not knowing that two sets of eyes were watching him from the shadows.
~~~~~
Later that evening, Jay and Cole stood in their separate cages preparing for their fight. Just then, Neuro ran up to Kai and Jay.
"You're cutting it close." Kai said, "So did you see into his head?"
"I'm sorry." Neuro panted, "I couldn't get past Clouse."
"Good." Jay said, "Then we can finally put our feud to rest... gladiator style."
"But I did see something." Neuro said, "For a brief moment, I saw inside Clouse's mind. The powers he's collecting, they're for a spell. A spell for what? I don't know. But it's in his spell book, on page 149. I'm sorry it's not enough to stop the fight. I wish I could've done more."
"That's okay, you've done what you could." Kai reassured and shook his head toward Cole and Lloyd on the other side of the arena.
"There's one other thing." Neuro added, "It's about that girl with the silver hair, Anirei, right?"
"What about her?" Kai and Jay asked.
"I saw just a glimpse of her in Clouse's mind. She looked terrified in a dark room, wandering about. But she didn't look right."
"What do you mean she didn't look right? She wasn't hurt, was she?" Jay asked.
"It didn't seem like it, but she was pale, as if she hadn't seen sunlight for a while."
Kai sighed in relief knowing that his little sister wasn't hurt, "Thanks, Neuro. That really helps."
Soon, the battle began, the two ninja being freed from their cages and allowed to fight.
"Let the tournament continue!" Chen announced as the fanfare began to play and the crowd roared in anticipation.
"Jay, Master of Lightning versus Cole, Master of--"
The two didn't waste any time running out to start the fight, their rage controlling them as their grudges towards each other pushed them forward.
Jay shot a bolt of lightning at Cole, but the Earth Ninja dodged it and brought up the stone from the arena floor. Jay backflipped away to dodge the attack.
"Ha, ha. That's all you've got?" Jay taunted, "Least valuable ninja!"
"Eat dirt, Blue-belle!" Cole shouted, firing a large pit of dirt at Jay, but Jay dodged and retaliated with his lightning. They continued shooting their powers back and forth, neither of them overpowering the other.
"Stronger than you thought, eh?" Jay questioned, "That's your betrayal flowing through my veins."
"I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet when you're out of the tournament." Cole shot back, pushing his power to the limit and throwing Jay down to the ground. Suddenly, he finally realized that them fighting against each other was completely stupid. They were brothers, not enemies.
"What are we doing?" Cole said, "I don't want you out. You're not my enemy, Chen is."
"Oh, sure, lower my guard by pretending to be my friend, then swoop in to steal the prize." Jay stood back up with lightning in his hands, "Typical cole maneuver."
"I never meant to hurt you, Jay. If I knew it would destroy our friendship, I'd take it all back."
"Well, if we're being honest, I was upset about losing Nya, but I take blame for that. I was more upset about losing you. We used to be good friends."
"The best! Right? We should've been honest with each other, instead of bottling this up."
"Ha! You know, for a second there, you kinda sounded like Anirei." Jay laughed, "But how are we supposed to stop fighting? We can't both win.
"Well, maybe we can draw it out till they call it a tie." Cole suggested, "Quick, attack me. But not hard."
The two began fighting, but didn't use their elemental powers and instead opted for hand to hand combat.
"Release the Condrai Crushers!" Chen ordered, getting bored with the lack of powers being used. Soon, several vehicles with sharp spinning blades were driven out into the arena.
Jay and Cole stood back to back as they assessed the situation.
"I got your back." Cole said.
"And I've got yours!" Jay said.
The two used their Spinjitzu and took out the first Condrai Crusher, leaving three left.
Cole ran up the nearby wall and stomped hard into the ground, making one of the vehicles flip upside down. Cole grabbed the vehicle and slammed it into another coming by. With one left, it headed straight towards Jay, but Jay was fast and flipped over to dodge it, landing right behind the driver before zapping him with lightning. It stopped right before it could slice Cole to bits.
The crowd cheered for their team victory, but Chen was not amused by this.
"Enough!" He shouted jumping from his throne, "I know what you are trying to do. If neither of wil win, then both of you will lose!"
Chen furiously tapped away at his buttons, causing pieces of the arena floor to fall. Jay and Cole jumped away to avoid getting dropped into the darkness.
"We can't both win!" Cole shouted, "Chen's right, there can only be one."
"And it should be you." Jay confessed, "You and I know I'm lucky to have even made it this far. You take the Jade Blade."
Cole jumped up high and quickly made his way to the blade, but he didn't keep it for long. Instead of keeping his victory, he threw the blade to Jay.
"Winner!" Chen announced, "Loser. Master of Lightning moves on."
Cole jumped down and lowered his mask.
"She's yours, Jay. I should've bowed out long ago. Win this thing."
Cole screamed as he dropped into the darkness, becoming a loser in the tournament and losing consciousness before he even hit the floor.
~~~~~
"Elder brother Cole..." A voice called to him, forcing Cole to open his eyes and see nothing but darkness.
"Cole..."
"Who's there?" Cole shouted, looking around, but all of a sudden he felt a pair of arms wrapping around him from the back.
Cole quickly turned around and almost cried in pure joy when he saw Anirei standing in front of him.
"Anirei?" He questioned, wanting this to be real. He held out his hands and placed them on her cheeks. They were cold, but she was there, smiling at him like she did before all of this happened.
"Elder brother Cole..." She said it again, I'm so glad to see you again. Even if it's through a dream."
"So Lloyd was telling the truth. He was able to see you through dreams."
Anirei nodded, "That's right, but you have to listen carefully, I don't have much time before I have to return to the stone Lloyd has."
"Okay, tell what you have to say." Cole said.
"I don't know why, I've been feeling cold and warm lately." Anirei explained.
"What do you mean?" Cole asked confused.
"I don't know. It's almost like I'm being showered in sunlight, and then all of a sudden, all of that warmth is sucked out of me. It's terrifying, Cole, and I don't know what's going to happen before the tournament is over."
Cole pulled Anirei close and hugged her tightly.
"Don't worry. Now that I'm not in the tournament, I'll have a bit more time to look for you and Zane. So cheer up, you won't have to be scared for long. We're gonna find you two and stop Chen."
Anirei smiled and snuggled deeper into his chest for comfort, "I don't doubt it."
Just then, Cole felt a jolt that woke him up. All he could see around him was a dark cell made of stone, but he continued to feel the lingering warmth of Anirei's hug.
"Good luck, Elder brother Cole..." Her voice whispered in his ear, but he wasn't startled by it. He was comforted by it. His determination to find his sister was relit, and he wouldn't let her or Zane down. He was going to find them.