*No POV*
Scarlett paced her room, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, okay... I'm next up in the fight. Right?"
"Well, you and Tox are the only ones who haven't fought yet," Turner answered, a finger pointed. "So I'm pretty sure you're fighting soon, just to finish off the first round."
"Way to rush things," Kai mumbled.
Scarlett stopped pacing, looking at the group for a few seconds. She then smiled—although it was just Neuro and Turner, she was glad they finally made friends with the rest of her team, save for Cole.
She wished he, Ash, and Camille could be there too. But for now, this would do.
"What's got you smiling?" Jay asked.
"Neuro, you wanna explain it for me? I'm sure you were reading my mind."
"It's too sentimental for me. I'm sure you would like to explain it yourself."
Scarlett laughed a bit, clapping her hands together. "I'm just glad that finally, after this entire thing, my old friends and new friends can get along."
Then the five of them exchanged glances, laughing a bit.
"Well, besides the tournament itself, you're the common denominator, Scar," Lloyd pointed out. "We both like you so much, I think that's why we're still sticking together."
"Sure, we have our alliance—but those two don't have to stick around." Kai grinned, nudging his thumb into Turner's side. "All because of our little Scarlet Ninja here."
"Maybe so. But hey, like she said, we're all getting along, right?" The speed master grinned, playfully elbowing him.
Seeing them so carefree calmed Scarlett's nerves a bit and she took a deep breath. I can fight her... Master of Poison, she can't be very offensive...
Chen's voice then sounded through the speaker in her room. "The final fight in the first round... well, I'm sure everyone knows who's fighting!" A maniacal giggle. "Will the dauntless Master of Poison and lovely Master of the Dragon Flame please head to their assigned arena?"
Scarlett cringed, a shudder running down her spine. "God, he's doing that on purpose."
"Remember... after the last fight, we've seen that Shade and Tox like to cheat together—you must be aware and pay attention to everything she does," Neuro warned.
"Right..." She nodded, clenching her fists confidently. "I don't know what she could do offensively with poison... besides actually poisoning me. Oh god, what if she tries to kill me?"
"That wouldn't benefit Chen in any way, shape, or form. If he wants your powers, he wouldn't want you dead," Jay told her. "So I doubt he'd allow Tox to try and kill you."
"Gee, thanks..."
"Don't worry, okay? We'll be up there cheering for you." Lloyd gave her a reassuring smile, to which she nodded and smiled as well.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Kai told the five. "We don't need her to be late."
The arena was different this time around. It was made to look like the stone hall that only the ninja have traveled through the night they discovered Chen's plan—but only they knew this.
Of course, Chen did this on purpose.
They all sat outside in the same benches, staring down at the plain floor. It was similar to Jay and Cole's arena, except the walls and ground were a beige stone.
The hall was dim, lit only with torches that made it bright enough for the fighters themselves to see what was happening clearly. Everyone outside of the fight most likely had to squint to see and catch any little details.
What confused everyone was that both Scarlett and Tox had a Jade Blade in their possession.
To calm the confusion, Chen stood up and smirked as he announced, "Since this is the last fight in the first round, I think we should change things up a bit. Tox, Master of Poison versus Scarlett, Master of the Dragon Flame!"
"He's making way too big a deal of the end of the round," Kai pointed out, crossing his arms. "There's definitely something going on."
"Remember I mentioned a while back about never letting the enemy be in possession of Scarlett's powers?" Garmadon looked to the team, all which who nodded. "Pay close attention. Chen believes he is getting one step closer to obtaining them."
"She can't lose this fight..." Lloyd tapped his fingers repeatedly, nervousness welling up within him. "What if Shade helps Tox cheat like she did to him?"
"I see one shady move and I'm going down there." Turner clenched his fist, glaring down at the girl in green—not like she could tell since he was wearing sunglasses.
"If we are going to turn the tables, we must do it from behind the scene," Neuro warned, placing a finger to his head. "I for one have that capability. Chen will never notice."
"Then we trust you, Neuro."
Up on the platform where Chen and his followers were, the leader couldn't help but laugh maniacally. "Now this is a fight I am looking forward to... I've always wondered what kind of power the prophesied element held."
Red had his arms crossed as he stared down at the two fighters. Staring down Tox, he tried to think of any way she could get past his sister—and without help, there wasn't much she could do.
That's what made him worry.
"I'm sure you'd like to see the power your sister holds," Clouse said to him, breaking his thoughts. "That is... if she loses, it will belong to your master."
Out of instinct, Red angrily grabbed onto Clouse's collar and scowled at him. "No one is my master—"
"Boys, boys, settle down... the fight is about to start!" Chen rose up once again, smirking at the two fighters. "Instead of fighting for a Jade Blade... you each will be fighting with one in possession! You may fight however you please—the first to fall and is deemed unable to continue wins!"
"Sounds like this one could go on for a while," Turner commented.
"Ready... fight!"
Scarlett and Tox circled each other, both holding the blade in one hand and their element in the other. Neither did anything for a few seconds.
"You're going down, bitch," Tox hissed before charging at her, blade pointed right at her chest.
Scarlett easily blocked the attack with a scowl. "Go ahead and try!"
The two then immediately went at it, earning cheers from the small, yet loud, group of elemental masters. The ninja cheered for their comrade, hoping she'd secure an easy victory.
"Come on, Scarlett!"
"You can beat her!"
"You're stronger than she is!"
Scarlett kept her grip on the Jade Blade tight, forming a stronger ball of fire in her hand and throwing her arm out, letting the power fly toward her opponent. The poison master dodged, now lifting her hand.
A mass of poison had formed above the ninja, coming down and ready to consume her. However, she noticed it and moved out of the way before she was caught in the green fog.
While she was distracted by the poison, Tox took this opportunity to run toward her and knock her off her feet with a strong kick. Scarlett's back hit the wall and she groaned at the impact.
"Okay, so we're playing that way..." She was quick to get back on her feet—being a ninja, she was no stranger to fighting, and she knew she could take a bit of a beating if that's what was in store for her.
"For you and your friends, it's all over," Tox sneered as she went for another attack.
"You sure like to talk!" Scarlett retorted and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back a few feet.
The green-haired fighter scowled, clenching her blade tightly. Green flowed through the blade and she waited a few seconds before slowly stepping toward her now.
Scarlett felt fortunate that she didn't need to use her powers yet. Maybe she wouldn't even have to in this fight and it would be over quickly.
However, she spoke too soon.
Tox seemed to suddenly have a surge of speed. She threw punches with her left hand while trying to find an opening with the blade. Scarlett blocked most of them, but it began to get overwhelming and a kick to the back of her knees made her lose balance.
The poison master took the opportunity to slash her across her thigh with the blade, a cry escaping the ninja. Out of instinct and retaliation, she backhanded her across the face, catching the poison master by surprise as the red hand mark began to form on her cheek.
"Oh shit," Kai mumbled.
Scarlett got to her feet and backed up, holding her thigh. A cut was there, but instead of blood dripping from the wound, a green substance was there.
And then she felt the most excruciating pain, almost as bad when she was thrown off the temple by Shade. She did her best not to scream, but her face expressed how hurt she was.
"What... what did you do to me...?"
"I am the Master of Poison, aren't I?" A devious smirk played on Tox's lips as she twirled the knife, which had changed to a darker green now from the poison element flowing through it. "Slowly, the poison will consume you... of course, it'll make you unable to fight, and it'll add a little bit of pain just for fun."
Red clenched his fist, angrily glaring down at the green-haired fighter. "If it were me down there, I would...!"
"Now this is getting interesting." Chen smirked, watching the fight intently.
"Scarlett!" Lloyd's eyes widened and he was ready to do something about it—but his father placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head.
"This is her fight, Son—so far, unfortunate as it is, she has not given Chen any reason to stop the fight. We must trust that Scarlett will win."
"Well, fuck... this hurts..." Tears welled up in her eyes but she refused to let them spill. Instead, she would finish this fight as quickly as possible. "But I'm not giving up!"
"It doesn't matter—once that poison goes through your entire body, you'll be finished."
Is she trying to fucking kill me? Asshole.
Scarlett did her best to fight off the pain shooting down her leg as she charged toward her opponent. She went to attack her with the blade, managing to strike her across the cheek before she was pushed back.
The ninja then formed another dark flame in her hand, shooting it at Tox. She dodged it and stood for a few seconds, smirking at the younger fighter.
Before she could scowl and question her smirk, Scarlett felt her legs giving out. She knew it was the poison getting to her, and it was starting to move up her body.
"Shit..." she cursed, her legs wobbling. But she refused to give up—she couldn't lose.
Scarlett glared up at her opponent, ready to end this fight once and for all. She had a determined and angered look on her face as her eyes began to glow a red color.
Now Tox took a step back. "What the...?"
The ninja lit her hand up in a flame, but instead of shooting it, the flame crawled up her arm and to her elbow. Dark red scales were now under the flame, and she didn't seem the least bit surprised.
Tox, on the other hand, had widened eyes. "What the hell... what are you?"
Chen watched the scene unfold, his eyes widened in awe. "Yes... yes! This is her true power..."
"What the hell?! Since when could she do that?" Turner questioned, even taking off his sunglasses for a second to see if he was hallucinating.
Scarlett let out a battle cry as she charged toward her opponent, her fist in flames ready to hit. Tox was too paralyzed to move—by the time she could even think about dodging, the fist had already made impact with her chest and she was sent flying into the stone wall.
The hit left Tox with a burning feeling in her chest. Her eyes were closed as she had fallen unconscious from the impact, dropping the blade in the process.
The poison in Scarlett's body had disappeared, leaving her feeling much better. As the fire subsided and the scales began to vanish from her arm, she held her Jade Blade up high, claiming her victory.
"Winner!" Chen shouted, the remaining elemental masters in thee benches cheering. He then stared at the unconscious fighter, "And although she cannot hear me... loser."
Oh my god, please tell me I didn't kill her, Scarlett prayed to herself, not wanting to be a murderer.
"Unbelievable..." Clouse even had widened eyes. "The power to take form of a dragon, even partially..."
"That is why she will not lose," Red told him, crossing his arms and smirking. "She is more powerful than you can imagine."
Scarlett turned around, staring up at her friends on the bench. Her angered and determined expression was gone, now replaced with a cheerful smile. "I did it, guys!"
"That was awesome!" Jay shouted, grinning.
"Nicely done!" Neuro nodded with a smile.
"Get on up here so we can congratulate you," Kai called her over with a small laugh.
Scarlett turned her head over to Chen, chucking her blade at him. "You can take your damn blade—this match was mine!"
Before it could hit the leader, Red stepped in front of him and caught it by the hilt. He stared down at her, smiling a bit. Congratulations, Sister.
He had reassurance for now that Chen wouldn't get anywhere near her—for now, at least.
What Chen was really paying attention to now was the elemental masters, save for Skylor and Shade, huddled together and chatting. They all made their way out of the arena, congratulating the scarlet ninja.
Shade stayed behind the group, a scowl on his face. However, Skylor tried making her way closer to the group, a plan up her sleeve.
Just as she tried to tap the victor on the shoulder, Kai took her hand and smirked at her. "Let's steer clear of that, yeah?"
Skylor was a bit shocked at his intrusion and yanked her hand away with a small frown. "I just wanted to say congratulations."
"Oh, no... trust me, I know exactly what your intentions were." The fire ninja winked at her, soon turning back around to return to his friends.
Skylor huffed, crossing her arms. So that's how it's gonna be...
Once they were all gone, Chen looked to his cloaked follower, "Red, go fetch the Master of Poison and bring her to the infirmary. Then send her to the factory."
He stared down at the green-haired fighter, hopping over the high platform and landing on his feet. He then went over to Tox, lifting her into his arms and staring down at her.
"If my sister had not finished you off, I would have," he whispered with a small scowl. "Consider yourself lucky."
Without another word, Red took the passage to the infirmary and waited.