The Tournament Of Elements
Disclaimer: Sophia, and Kimberly are mine!
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Ok! My Jeanette series is a LOT popular then this series!
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"You got closer then I thought you would." Cyrus Borg said as Lloyd untied himself and walked over to him, and Wu. "But then again, I didn't think you'd be quite so rough on my security droids."
Lloyd started to push Borg's wheelchair. "If I can't steal the Golden Armor, I'd be surprised if anyone else could. It's secure, but where's the real one?"
"Some secrets are best kept safe." Borg smiled.
"Lloyd, where are the other Ninja?" Wu asked. "I asked for all of you to take part in this test."
"Uh, they, uh ... they really wanted to be here, but they uh ... all had other plans." Lloyd said nervously.
"I understand perfectly well." Borg said. "The loss of Zane has affected us all. I haven't even heard from Emily. Nor my Sophia. It's heartbreaking."
Lloyd looked down, Sophia had called him in a panic saying that a dangerous looking man had broken into Borg Tower, she was trapped and couldn't escape and didn't know what to do, Lloyd had dropped what he was doing but by the time he got there it was too late - she was gone, Borg's office was ransacked and no sign of Sophia.
Wu placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder, when the blonde looked at him he saw the understanding in the elder's eyes.
"Oh! Lloyd! I don't blame you for Sophia's disappearence!" Borg exclaimed, looking at Lloyd's face.
"I know." Lloyd nodded. "I'm just really sorry I couldn't get here faster."
Wu gently squeezed Lloyd's shoulder. "If we dwell too long on what's missing, we fail to see what can be gained. The absence of Zane will either tear you four apart, or bring you closer together. The choice is yours."
"I'll do what I can, but it won't be easy." Lloyd said.
"The greatest lessons never are." His uncle replied.
"But one problem! I have no idea where any of them are!"
"I can help with that." Borg reched into his inside shirt pocket of his gray flannel, pulling out a pad of paper. "Sophia had done this on her own." He held out the pad for Lloyd, who took it.
"What is it?" The blonde asked as he looked at the pad of paper.
"It's where the Ninja are currently at." Borg said as Lloyd opened the pad and saw Jay's current information.
"Jay in front of a camera?" Lloyd laughed. "That should've been no surprise." His green eyes skimmed Jay's home address, and the TV station's address. Next is Cole who's lumberjack and the address where he's currently at. The third page is Kai, who's a lawyer, his home address is the same but the address has a question mark.
Lloyd smiled as he closed the pad. "Thank you."
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Lloyd snuck into Jay's dressing room.
"Ninja never, huh Zane?" Jay asked as he sat in a chair in front of vanity mirror.
"The team needs you now, more then ever." Lloyd's voice had Jay looking around, he gasps when Lloyd suddenly appears.
"How did you get in here!?"
"I'm a Ninja!" Lloyd smiles, then points at Jay. "And you are wearing makeup."
"Hey, hey, heym hey!" Jay cries insulted. "It's concealer! A time honored tool of the Ninja." He folded his arms tightly. "And what do you mean 'team'?" He demanded. "I don't see the Ninja suddenly running around town."
"You don't belong here Jay." Lloyd told him. "You're the Master Of Lightning, not the Master of Lighting." He soon disappeared. "You know where I'll be if you change your mind."
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Cole is currently in Blackwood Forest, chopping a branch.
"The team needs you now, more then ever."
Cole paused and looked up to see Lloyd standing on different branch. "I thought I was good with a scythe." Cole grunts as he swings the ax to continue to chop the branch. "Turns out, I'm even better with an ax! Ugh, I'm tired of fighting Lloyd. Tired of Serpentine, tired of Nindroids, tired of ... Jay. Out here, no one knows who you are. No one expects anything of you."
"What would Zane expect?!" Lloyd wanted to know, not liking Cole in a tree instead of on solid ground. "You're the Master Of Earth, Cole! You don't belong in trees. Your feet should be on the ground! You can't hide who you are!"
"Sorry Green Machine." Cole looked at him. "This is my life now."
Suddenly. The logs that are piled on a truck, start to break and fall. "Oh, oh, cracked stem! She's falling hard!" A worker cries, and everyone on the ground screams and runs for cover. But Cole jumps out of the tree and saves the workers with his power, and the workers cheer.
"Who is he?" A worker asks, and Cole sighs as he picks up his lunchbox. He opens it it was empty cause he had already eaten the sandwhich, chips, and a muffen that Nya made and packed for him, Cole pulls out his water bottle and takes a drink.
"If you change you mind, Cole, you know where I'll be." Lloyd said, and when Cole turned, Lloyd was gone.
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Lloyd looked around the little office, it wasn't fancy but it looked comfortable. Walking over to the desk, he saw a picture frame of both Kai & Nya who were smiling into the camera, then another picture frame of the whole team setting next to it.
Picking up a book, Lloyd sat down in the big black leather chair. "Comfy." He smiled, then opened the book to skim through it.
A little while longer, the door of the office opened and Kai walked in. He sighed as he closed the door, then walked up to the desk and set his bag down. But he paused when he noticed someone is in his chair.
"You were a little hard to track down." Lloyd said as he uncrossed his ankles and set his feet back down. "Tired of being a human Pinata for birthday parties?" He smiled.
Kai's eyes widened. "How'd you get in here!?"
"I'm a Ninja!" Lloyd continued to smile.
Kai shook his head as he moved. "What do you want Lloyd?" He asked as he laid down on the couch.
Lloyd leaned on the desk. "The team needs you now, more then ever."
Kai lifted his head off the throw pillow to look at the blonde. "Who says the great and powerful Green Ninja needs a team? You seem to be holding down the fort on your own."
"I get it Kai." Lloyd said, now perching himself on the desk. "You ran out of bad buys to roast over your fire. You don't belong inside a stuffy, squeaky office, with a stuffy suit to match. Where's the Master Of Fire? Where's the honor."-
Kai sat up. "I got a better question." He cut Lloyd off. "Where's the Master Of Ice? Huh? I'm still around! Who cares about honor? It should've been me. I should've been the one."-
"You always thought you should've been front and center." The blonde cut him off. "First it was being the Green Ninja, now this. When are you gonna start thinking of someone other then yourself."
Kai looked down.
"If you change your mind, you know where I'll be."
Kai looked up to find himself alone.
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In the park, Kai walked up to the statue of Zane, putting a hand on the leg of the statue, Kai moved on.
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"There's only one Master Chen's, Ninjago's number one Noodle House!" Chen's voice said through a recording as Kai stood in front of the place, he then walked inside.
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Lloyd poked his head out from the third booth. "Kai! Back here!" He called waving.
The red Ninja walked over to the table, and was surprised. "Jay? Cole?"
Cole, along with both Kai, and Jay were in civillian clothing, scoffed. "Ha, you too?" He's wearing a black sweatshirt, with black jeans.
"The runt tricked us all." Jay scoffed, as Lloyd stopped Kai from taking a plate of sushi.
"We talk first, then eat." The blonde told him.
Cole groaned. "Trust me, do you know what kind of restraint I've had to have staring at all of this noodle goodness?" He asked, clearly really hungry. "You're late!"
"Make it quick." Kai said impatiently as he sat down next to Cole. "Here, from Nya." He pushed a candy bar towards Cole.
"Alright!" The black Ninja grinned, snatching the bar and started to scarfing it down.
Lloyd sighed, he took a big breath. "I know without Zane, things have been different." He started. "But we have to move on. The reason I brought you all here is because." He paused. "Maybe we should add someone new to our team."
As expected, the other three were not happy.
"A new Ninja?"
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?"
"Come on, Zane's irreplaceable!"
"I cared for him too." Lloyd told them. "But now it's time to care about this team."
"Maybe without Zane, there is no team." Kai folded his arms and looked away, closing his eyes.
It was quiet for a long time between the four.
Suddenly the doors opened to reveal Eyezor, and two other thugs walked in.
"Oh, don't look now, but we've got trouble." Jay said, the first seeing them.
The thugs started to make trouble, then threw the cashier onto the conveyor belt and laugh.
"Alright, now they're our problem!" Cole said, and the Ninja walk over to the thugs. "Excuse me, it's not polite to touch someone else's food!" He told the three hotly.
"I'd listen if I were you. He's no fun to be around when he's hangry." Kai said, before the three attack the Ninja. But Kai, and Cole fight them.
"Alright, I admit it." Kai said as he fought two thugs at the same time, kicking plates of food at them, the two thugs try to avoid the plates. "We make a good team."
Cole starts to pluck flying food that Kai kicks. "Yeah, mmm." He smiles after putting shrimp in his mouth. "Everything's better on a full stomach!"
Eyezor suddenly shatters a plate, angring Cole.
"Hey, I was gonna eat that!" He grabbed Eyezor and easily threw him onto the conveyor belt, face planting in a bowl of noodles, as Kai kicks the two of them down, before jumping over to his friends.
"How the hell can you walk away from this!?" Lloyd demanded, noting the now ess.
Eyezor lifts his head, sushi over his eyes and shrimp on his fangs, scaring a young girl and the mother hits him with a plate until the three thugs fall off the conveyor belt, the young girl throw food at the three. "Let's get out of here!" Eyezor yelled, before turning around and giving the Ninja a brief look before quickly leaving through the back door.
"Hey!" Cole yelled. "Let's get him guys!"
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In the alleyway of the restaurant, only to find it empty.
"Where'd they go?" Kai groaned. Before spotting a shrine with a drawning of Zane with writing. "Huh?"
"What's this?" Lloyd asked as they walk over to the shrine.
Kai gasps. "It's Zane!"
"What does it say?" Cole asked as Lloyd pushes them aside to remove the drawning.
"It says he's a alive!" The blonde said after reading the writing, and the others gasp.
"I don't think those thugs were delivering a message to the Noodle House." Kai said with realization. "I think they were delivering a message to us!"
"What do you mean it says he's alive!?" Jay demanded.
"Hey, I'm just telling you what it says." Lloyd said.
"Why would those thugs lead us here?" Kai asked.
"You know, this has to be some cruel joke." Cole said. "And I'm not laughing!"
Lloyd saw a plate of fortune cookies. "Look." He points at the plate. "I think this was meant for us too."
"Fortune cookies?" Jay asked as he took one. "Very peculiar."
Lloyd looked at the other Ninja. "Should we?" As he was asking, Cole grabs one and eats it.
"Uh, you do realize there's a fortune INSIDE, right?" Kai asked as he broke open the cookie to show the piece of paper sticking out, while Jay stood there staring at Cole with a frozen look of shock.
Cole finished chewing, then swallowed. "Oh, so that's why they're called that."
Lloyd rolled his eyes, before looking at the slip of paper. "Listen to this. 'Master Chen has personally invited you to participate in his Tournament Of Elements."
"Wait a minute!" Cole cried with shock. "Are you saying that Mr. Chen, the same guy filling my belly with delicious goodness, is actually Master Chen!?"
"'Secrecy is of the utmost importance." Kai read his slip of paper. "'Tell no one, or suffer the consequences.'"
"'If you ever want to see your friend again, meet on the pier at midnight and leave your weapons behind.'" Jay finished. Suddenly his slip of paper exploded making him jump with a yelp, Kai's exploded next, followed by Lloyd, the three turned to look at Cole who's erupted in his stomach and he cries with a jump a cry then he then doubled over before standing up and burping out smoke.
"Uhh. At least I know I was invited." He smiles, and the Ninja laugh.
"You don't think." Lloyd trailed off when they calmed down.
"It could be a trap." Kai said. "A lie to lure us in."
"Yeah, but what if it's not?" Jay asked with worry. "What if Zane's alive!?"
"The Tournament Of Elements." Lloyd muttered as he looked at the drawing of Zane, then he said louder. "I'm starting to think this Master Chen makes more then noodles."
"You can forget bringing in a new Ninja, Lloyd." Kai told him. "Let's go see about an old one."
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Cole had fallen asleep on top of the bed inside his bedroom inside the apartment he now shares with Nya, and Kai. Nya was fast asleep next to him while under the blankets. Cole's alarm rang off, causing both in the bed to jump awake startled, and Cole reaches over to slam his hand on the alarm almost smashing it.
"Cole?" Nya asked sleeply as she feels the bed shift. "What are you doing?"
Cole froze. "Uh." He turns around. "Bathroom!" He turned back to the bed. "I'm sorry I set the alarm, I thought I had it on am."
Nya yawned. "Let's hope Kai didn't hear the alarm." She said tiredly, and Cole grins.
"I love you babe." He leans down and kisses her cheek, then lips. He watched as Nya fell back asleep.
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The Nijna arrive at the dock at midnight with other Elemental Masters. Kai looked around. "Uh, I told you we shouldn't have worn them!" He complained pulling off his mask, then looks around. "Tournament Of Elements. You think all of them have powers like us?"
"When I asked my dad about it, he got really suspicious." Lloyd said. "Like there's something he's keeping from me."
"The fortune cookie said, tell no one or else there'd be consequences." Cole reminded.
"Relax, we're cool." Lloyd said. "We're cool." A ferrt suddenly pulls up to the dock, and everyone gets into a single file line. "We don't know yet if this is a trap. Wherever they take us, we have to stick together."
"Watch your step, madam."
Kai turns to see a woman wearing a cloak, she turns to look at them, and Kai soon smiles.
"We can't let anything distract us." Lloyd said firmly, putting his hand on Kai's shoulder. "You hear me Kai?"
"Uh? Uh, yeah. Uh, got it. Whatever you said."
Soon, one-by-one everyone started to get on the ferry, then it was the Ninja's turn.
"Master Chen will be charmed to see you've accepted his offer." Clouse said to Jay. "A Master Of Spinjitzu shall far favorable in his Tournament."
"Hey, we're not here to fight." Jay glared at him. "We're only here to save a friend!"
"Don't be so petty, Master Jay." Clouse reaches into Jay's bag and pulls out nunchucks. "Everyone here has something to fight for."
"Chopsticks!" Jay tried to cover. "I'm a big eater, huh."
Clouse simply tosses the weapon into the sea, and Jay gulps before Clouse lets him on board the ferry.
Cole, and Kai soon follow.
"Lloyd wait!" Garmadon's voice called when Lloyd started to walk on the gangplank, and Lloyd turns to see his father walking over to them. "If you get on that boat, you may never return!" He warns as he walks up to his son.
"What are you doing here, dad?"
"Master Chen is a dangerous man, who should never be tusted." Garamdon continued to warn. "Whatever he promised you, do not believe him!"
Clouse turns around. "Lord Garmadon. It's been awhile. It's Sensei now, correct? I can't remember." He said dryly.
"Clouse." Garmadon returned the glare. "I see Master Chen still has you running his errands."
"I have to go, dad." Lloyd put a foot back on the plank. "This is about Zane. It's about family. If we're ever going to be whole again, I have to get on that ship."
"Last call." Clouse said. "Are you in, or out?"
Lloyd soon gets on the boat.
"I can't stop you, son." Garamdon said. "But I can join you." He prepared himself to join the Ninja, but Clouse stops him.
"Sorry, no more room on the ship."
"No room?" Garmadon repeats. Before the men could pull back the gangplank, a mystery girl wearing pink comes up to behind the man and kicks him in the butt, the man screamed as he fell face first off the ferry and landed in the sea with a big splash.
"There's room now." She smiles, proudly. And Garamdon quickly jumps onto the ferry.
"I stand corrected. There's room now." Clouse said as the gangplank fell off the ferry and landed with a bigger splash in the sea.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to compete." Garmadon said, walking up to Lloyd. "Only to look out for my interests." He places his hand on Lloyd's shoulder.
"Let's ship out!" Clouse calls out, walking off with some goons.
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Sophia, inside a cell. Finally awakes, and holding her head.
"I hold all the cards!" Chen's voice came from behind the door, and he laughs evilly.
