I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AND POSITIVE FEEDBACK YOH CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH THAT HELPED! GO AHEAD AND READ THIS CRAP OF A CHAPTER
The next day was uneventful. Until that night whereas the four Ninja grouped in Kai's room.
They tried to figure out how they would search the island for the two siblings, Cole complained about how Kai's room was better than his own mainly since Kai had an actual bed and Cole had a rock one. But thanks to his complaining, he found a secret button which let the team into the inside of the castle.
They searched through the castle through hidden tunnels, Cole accidentally leaving a trail of chocolate-covered shell peas to allow them to know their way back.
However on their search, they found a large room. A ceremonial room. Where, after jumping four cultists, they got disguises and snuck in. Using melted chocolate to make faux-tattoos on their faces and watched Chen use a staff to steal Karlof's powers.
Green energy came from the staff and hit Karlof, taking his powers.
The chocolate melted and the four boys were caught. But they managed to run away, Clouse sent his pet snake after the team, it barely nicked Jay. Cutting a part of his clothes off and they got back into Kai's room.
Reluctantly, they agreed to abide by Chen's rules... for now.
The following morning, an Anacondrai Warrior was serving the Elemental Masters food for breakfast, cafeteria style.
"This isn't a fighting tournament." Jay said as the four Ninja were in line. "It's an excuse for Chen to steal everyone's powers. But we still don't know why."
"Isn't it obvious? Chen wants to destroy New Ninjago City. I don't know what it is, but that place has had a string of bad luck." Kai pointed out.
"I'm not so sure. It just doesn't seem right to me." Cole sighed.
"And may I remind us, we still don't know where the kids are, which is why we all need to take care of our first rounds to give us more time." Jay said, they all looked at him. "Don't look at me. I've already moved on."
"Your opponent was eliminated before you could fight." Zane reminded him him.
"Hehe, either way, it's my day off." Jay turned to the Anacondrai Warrior. "Extra creamy biscuits. And don't skimp." The Warrior piled biscuits on Jay's plate before he moved on.
They started walking away from the line.
"Taking a day off? And here I thought Ninja never quit." Cole said.
"And I used to think a Ninja wouldn't steal your girlfriend." Jay retorted.
Zane sighed in exasperation. "You should be preparing to fight your next opponent, not each other. You shouldn't harbor grudges."
"What grudge? I already dropped it." Cole shrugged as they sat down.
"I dropped it first."
"Did not."
"Did too." They continue arguing, with Jay dropping his biscuits and drink.
Chen came up on an intercom. "The Tournament of Elements continues! Fun time! Would the following Masters please make their way to their assigned arena? Speed, Gravity, Smoke, Nature, Mind, oh, and last and hopefully not least..."
"Huh, maybe we all got the day off." Jay guessed hopefully.
"...Fire!" Kai gasped. "Remember, only one can remain."
"Turner, Master of Speed, versus Gravis, Master of Gravity. Fight!"
The two make their way toward the Jadeblade, which was high up in a cherry blossom tree.
"What? Can't keep up? I'm over here. Can't catch me." Griffin jumped around the tree with blinding speed.
Gravis decided to levitate some of the flowers from the tree and aim it toward Griffin.
"This doesn't look good." Griffin realized.
Griffin dodged all of the projectiles, and Gravis levitated the Jadeblade to him but Griffin grabbed it midair.
"Yeah!" Griffin cheered, holding the Jadeblade high.
"Winner! Loser!" Chen opened a trapdoor below Gravis, who didn't fall down it due to his ability to hold himself up with Gravity. So a sandbag dropped on Gravis and made him fall down.
"Whoa. How many buttons does that man have?" Griffin wondered aloud.
"Master of Speed moves on."
"Neuro, Master of Mind, versus Bolobo, Master of Nature. Fight."
Neuro used his power on Bolobo, the Jadeblade was on a rock beside them.
Bolobo held his head for a bit before he got the chance to use his powers.
Neuro got trapped in Bolobo's vines. "I didn't see that coming!"
He struggled in the vines, but then figured out how to escape.
Neuro used his Mind to give Bolobo a headache, freeing him from the vines and using another vine that was growing out of control to climb the rock and grab the Jadeblade.
"Yeah!" He cheered.
"Winner! Loser!" Bolobo screamed as he fell into a trapdoor that opened below him. "Master of Mind moves on."
"Kai, Master of Fire, versus Ash, Master of Smoke. Fight!"
The two ran for the Jadeblade, but in the midst of things, they dropped the Jadeblade on a rock under them. They were in a faux volcano.
"Ninja, go!" Kai used Spinjitzu and spun towards Ash, who disappeared in the smoke then appeared behind Kai. Kai used his Element on Ash, sending a fireball toward him. "Fire!"
Clouse is about to use his Dark Magic on Kai and Ash's battle when Chen stops him.
"No Magic. I'm enjoying this."
Kai broke the bridge with his Fire. And he and Ash got into a brief fistfight, but in the end Kai grabbed the Jadeblade.
"Winner! Loser! Master of Fire moves on."
The Ninja congratulated Kai as they reentered the main room of the palace, where they saw the Elemental Masters gathered around the bracket.
"What's all the commotion?" Jay asked.
They gasped, there was a change in the ballot. Cole and Jay were on the same bracket.
"No, he can't do this." Cole insisted.
"He already did." Zane sighed.
"We gotta fight each other."
"But why does it say I have to fight Cole? It didn't say that before. I'm not ready to fight. It was supposed to be my day off." Jay complained frantically.
"I tried to warn you, but you never listen. Talk, yes. Listen, not so much." Cole said snarkily.
"Is there a problem, Ninja?" Clouse walked up.
"You cheated! You changed the brackets." Cole claimed.
"Oopsie." He laughed and walked away.
"What do we do? They can't fight each other. We came here to reconnect and be whole, not fall apart." Kai said, running a hand through his hair.
"We can't undo what's been done." Zane told them.
"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!?" Jay grabbed him by the shoulders shook Kai, wanting an answer.
"Calm down." Zane ordered. "We find Lloyd and Lucy and leave, then none of us have to fight. Your fight is not until tonight so we still have time to figure out what Chen's up to and stop this."
Kai nodded. "I think I know just the person who can help. And I think he already knows."
That night, the Ninja went to see Neuro.
"We need your help, Neuro." Kai said as they walked up to the man as he meditated.
"You think I can get close to Chen to read his mind, so you can find your friends and not have to fight." Neuro said, not even opening his eyes.
"Don't forget—"
"You still need to know what Chen's up to because he's hiding something."
"That's really impressive, Nerdo." Jay complimented and insulted.
"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 demanded.
"You just said it yourself." Cole defended.
"But you didn't have to believe it!"
"Don't be offended, Cole. Jay here thinks you're the least valuable Ninja." Neuro told him.
Cole glared at Jay. "You don't say." They start pushing each other.
Zane separated them. "That's enough. No one is the least valuable, you two have known each other the longest. You should know better."
Kai glared at Neuro. "We wanted you to help, Neuro, not make things worse."
"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." Kai ordered, Neuro does, and sees Kai's memory of Chen stealing Karlof's Metal. "It's only a matter of time before Chen steals your power too. So are you in?"
Later that night, Jay and Cole prepare for their fight.
"Thinks it'll be an easy fight. Well, I'll show him!" Jay muttered as he hit a punching bag with Cole's picture on it. He was doing his best to tune out Zane's words from earlier.
Neuro arrived, looking panicked.
"You're cutting it close. So did you see into his head?" Kai asked him.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't get past Clouse." Neuro apologized.
"Good. Then we can finally put our feud to rest. Gladiator style!" Jay said, trying to appear happy.
"But I did see something. For a brief moment, I saw inside Clouse's mind. The powers he's collecting, they are for a spell."
"A spell for what?"
"I don't know. But it's in his spellbook 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."
On the other side of the arena, Zane tried to convince Cole.
"You don't have to say it. It was inevitable we were gonna have to face each other. May as well be Jay. This fight's been a long time coming." Cole sighed.
"That doesn't mean you still can't find peace with each other. We don't have control when we fight, but we do have control how we fight. Jay's not the enemy, Chen is. Remember that. One of you will lose, but don't blame each other. You are brothers." Zane reminded him.
Cole nodded absently. "Wu once said the best way to defeat your enemy is to make him your friend, but how are you supposed to defeat your friend?" He looked at Zane who shook his head sadly, not knowing the answer.
The battle was about to start. So Zane, Kai, and Neuro go back to the audience to watch.
"We tried our best, the rest is up to them." Zane told Kai as they sat down.
Kai nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think they'll do it. They've been holding this for months. What makes us think this grudge will just disappear?"
"Let the tournament continue! Jay, Master of Lightning, versus Cole, Master of—"
The start fighting before Chen could finish announcing. They threw their individual elements at each other relentlessly.
"Haha! That's all you've got? Least valuable Ninja!" Jay snapped around Cole when he landed a hit.
"Eat dirt, Blue-belle!" Cole retorted.
Jay retaliated with his own. "Stronger than you thought, eh? 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.
He overpowered Jay with Earth before slowing down and realizing what was happening and what he was saying. "What are we doing? 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. Typical Cole maneuver." Jay snapped.
"I never meant to hurt you, Jay. If I knew it would destroy our friendship, I'd take it all back." Cole insisted.
"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."
"Agreed. 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. Quick, attack me. But not hard."
They stopped using their powers and ran at each other, fighting with their fists.
"Ah, what is this? Pattycake? I'm bored. Release the Condrai Crushers!" Chen ordered.
Doors opened and a bunch of vehicles came in, circling and about to attack the Ninja duo.
"I got your back." Cole said as he and Jay went back to back.
"And I've got yours." Jay agreed.
"Ninja, go!" They both spun into Spinjitzu and began to fight the Condrai Crushers together.
Zane grinned. "They did it!"
Cole and Jay didn't even bother to pretend to fight each other anymore.
"Enough! I know what you are trying to do. If neither of you will win, then both of you will lose!" Chen yelled and he began to activate all of his trap doors.
"We can't both lose." Cole said. "Chen's right, there can only be one."
"And it should be you. You and I both know I'm lucky to have even made it this far. You take the Jadeblade." Jay said.
Cole listened and took the Jadeblade, but instead threw it to Jay who caught it on instinct.
"Winner! Loser! Master of Lightning moves on." Chen declared happily.
"She's yours, Jay. I should've bowed out long ago. Win this thing." Cole said right before a trapdoor opened beneath him and he fell.
Yes! I am indeed alive!
Consider this chapter that took me friggin weeks to write as an apology, Christmas gift, and New Years present. Happy New Years y'all.
I'm still very annoyed that I've hyperfixated on two British teens, an e-girl loving British musical prick, an American anarchist pig with a hatred for orphans, a British man who is a father figure for thousands, three idiots who chase each other around for fun with their demon and cat friends, the demon and cat friends, their friend who is a diamond block who is in love with the demon, and several others. If you couldn't tell it's MCYT and streamers, mostly DreamSMP players. And yes, I am in fact a REDACTED year old girl obsessed with block men, don't judge me.
I did start a oneshot book to satiate my need to write about said block men and so I can hurry up on my other stories.
I'd say it's helped a descent bit.
But anyways, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I still have a couple hours to go but soon enough 2020 will be over and we have to deal with whatever horrors 2021 awaits. Because I am positive all of the crap that has come with 2020 isn't just gonna disappear,
it's might be amplified.
💜 ~ Bye!