"Hello, combatants!" Chen's irritatingly jubilant voice rang over the loudspeakers in the jungle. "I have left a few treats to help you in the hunt. I hope you use them wisely."

"Yeah, right," Nya grumbled. "Probably all booby trapped." She pushed through the foliage, scanning for any sign of Lloyd or her friends. Her heart was still racing from the deathly fall, not to mention that crazy stunt Skylor had pulled. Nya had really thought that her friend wasn't going to make it. But at the last minute, she'd seen the tell-tale misty violet of Clouse's magic catch her. And after Skylor disappeared into the trees, Nya had caught a glimpse of orange darting beneath the canopy.

So she knew that Skylor was safe, with a head start, no less. She just hoped that she had already found Lloyd, and they were both safe.

Another flash of color between the foliage and Nya spotted a familiar face.

"Sensei Garmadon!" She ran over to him, already feeling more hopeful. "I'm glad I found you. Maybe if we meet up with the others we'll be able to find Lloyd faster."

Sensei Garmadon nodded, but he seemed distracted, troubled. And who could blame him? "If we're going to find Lloyd before the others do, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The two of them continued on, eyes peeled for any glimpse of their allies – or their enemies. Nya pointed out footprints that looked small enough to be Lloyd's and they followed the tracks through the dense foliage. They both remained quiet as they walked, giving Nya time to think. She wondered what the point was, in having them chase down Lloyd. Chen seemed to think that everything was just a game. But surely he knew that, with the three ninja and Garmadon still playing, their chances of finding Lloyd would be greater.

Nya wished that they would have been able to convince the other fighters of Chen's true plan. That would have made this much easier. Yet, in this round, the majority of competitors would be eliminated. Then Chen's plan would be nearly complete, and she worried that he may even be too powerful to stop. Nya wondered just how much power he would really need to do the spell.

Speaking of which . . .

"Sensei, Skylor told us that Master Chen's spell would turn him and all of his allies into Serpentine. I know what you said before, but . . . well, I guess I'm still having a hard time believing that they really existed. We've seen some pretty crazy stuff, but nothing like that. You really fought against them?"

Garmadon nodded and ducked under a low-hanging branch. "Man and Serpentine did not get along back then. War broke out when the Serpentine struck, and the Alliance of Elemental Masters rose up against them."

"And my parents?"

"Your parents, the Masters of Water and Fire, were a part of that Alliance. None of them had ever faced the likes of an Anacondrai Warrior before. They were bigger, smarter, and natural leaders on the battlefield." Garmadon held aside some of the thick leaves for Nya to pass through. "They were a proud tribe who fought with every ounce of venom. There was no greater warrior in the land. And with them in command, they proved to be too much for the Alliance to handle."

Nya watched the muddy ground passing under her feet. She could still make out Lloyd's footprints as they went. "Why didn't my parents ever tell me?"

"I don't think they planned for you to be a part of this world, Nya. And, I think the Serpentine Wars are something we all tried to forget."

"Hmm." Nya was quiet again until she remembered something else. "Didn't you say that Wu fought with you as well?"

"Wu was Chen's pupil before he chose to side with us in the war."

"So Wu turned against Chen . . . but now his ninja are working for him?"

Garmadon heaved a sigh. "Yes, it seems that they have formed an alliance in respect to their old ties. Or maybe they just plan to use each other."

The tracks led them to a mossy log that loomed in their path. Nya hopped onto the trunk and paused. "Well . . . if Wu fought on the side of good at one time, isn't that a good sign? Maybe he's not completely evil." Like my brother. She couldn't help the thought flashing through her mind, still hopeful, like a glint of light on a rolling sea.

Garmadon climbed over the log himself, but Nya stayed where she was, dangling her feet over the edge as she listened. "It's true that it took time for the evil inside to fully consume him. But no, I don't think that my brother cared so much about what would happen to humanity. He had . . . other reasons for fighting with us. But that part of him is gone now, and there is nothing in this world that he cares about more than conquering Ninjago for himself.

"He and I were the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master," Garmadon continued as Nya listened with fascination. "And together with the Elemental Alliance, we stood a fighting chance. But Chen's influence changed all that. He found a way to turn the Alliance against each other, and at that point it looked as if the battle was all but lost. But in our darkest hour, we found hope. And hope found a way to win the war."

"So did you put them away, like Pixal said?"

"Yes, the tribes were separated and locked away in tombs. Chen and Clouse were exiled. And the Anacondrai Generals were given the strictest sentence: banishment to the Cursed Realm, so that they will never set foot in Ninjago again."

"And now Chen is trying to bring the war back," Nya concluded. She hopped off the log and landed on solid ground. "Wow. I can't believe all those stories are true."

Garmadon smiled a little. "Maybe not all of them. History tends to become a little distorted over time. But, more or less."

Nya took another glance at the tracks, remembering their mission. "We better hurry. Someone else might have noticed these by now."

Garmadon didn't say anything in response, but they picked up the pace. Nya couldn't fathom what he must be feeling. She only hoped that, wherever Lloyd was, he could hold out for just a little longer.


After Cole and Zane and Pixal had snuck back into the factory, it was surprisingly easy for Pixal to convince a few of the imprisoned masters to agree to work with them. Word quickly spread, and within a day she had the whole factory of workers under her thumb. Cole could have sworn it wasn't natural, that whoever had built her must have added some sort of ability to charm people in addition to her enhanced strength. It would certainly explain why he and Zane had agreed to her crazy plan of coming back.

The factory had turned out to be the perfect place to hide because, not only were they able to keep an eye on which fighters lost the tournament and how many people they had yet to get out, but the noise of the machinery was also perfect for masking their voices so the three of them could discuss a plan in secret. Then they just had to wait for the chance to talk with all the rest of the prisoners. That chance soon came when all the guards were removed to try and hunt down the missing prisoners, and the factory was locked down.

They'd been brainstorming for hours now, but Chen's facilities seemed to be airtight. At one point, they'd been considering sneaking out through the sewer system, but then Pixal calculated that the pipes wouldn't be able to hold everyone's weight. It might have been possible if they had a couple less people, or if Pixal wasn't made entirely of metal. Of course, she had insisted on being left behind so that the rest of them could escape, but Cole and Zane agreed that it would defeat the purpose of coming back in the first place.

All the other prisoners were gathered around Cole where he was seated on one of the conveyor belts, lending their ideas for a successful escape. Among them were Masters Karlof, Camille, Gravis, Toxikita, Bolobo, Ash, and Jacob. So far, no one had been able to come up with any useful ideas.

Cole groaned as he crumpled up the page on which he had been trying to picture their most recent idea. "Okay, so maybe rolling ourselves up into giant egg rolls isn't the best plan," he said as he tossed away the paper ball. He was starting to wonder if coming back was even worth it, when freedom had been so near. "Anyone else have another idea?"

"Karlof used to be aeronautical engineer back in Metalonia," said the metal master. "Work on Roto jets. Just one could take out entire army!"

"Oh, great idea," Cole said dryly. "But two things: we don't have a Roto jet and what good is a jet if we're underground!"

At this rate, Chen's guards would be back before they could come up with anything, and who even knew how soon that would be? They would lose their only chance to come up with a decent plan. Cole was really starting to think that this was a mistake. If Master Wu was here, he probably would have seen this coming and advised Zane and Cole to leave the other prisoners and escape on their own. That's probably what they should have done in the first place.

"What is it, Pixal?" Zane asked. The android was looking around the room, her eyes narrowed as if in concentration.

After a moment, she said, "Perhaps we do have a Roto jet."

Cole looked around now, too, as did the other factory workers. He didn't see a jet anywhere.

But Zane caught on quicker than the rest. "That's it! Pixal, you've solved it!"

Pixal eyes shone, and she grinned in a way that was almost real. "We can get parts from the fortune cookie machine for the engine."

"And parts from the noodle machine for the controls."

"Yes! And practically anything will work as projectiles."

"What are you talking about?" Cole asked, incredulous. They didn't really think this could work, did they? What would they do with a jet that didn't even have room to fly? These two were supposed to be the smartest people here!

Zane ignored him. "Karlof, do you still remember the schematics of it?"

Karlof nodded proudly. "Of course."

"Then it's settled," Pixal announced, suddenly taking charge. "Karlof and I will create a blueprint. Zane, you give everyone a list of parts to find."

Cole watched, incredulous, as everyone immediately ran off to do as she said. "But – we're – underground!"

No one would listen.

Cole sighed and lay on his back. Truly, they would never get out of here. He just hoped that Kai and Jay were having better luck aboveground.


*sigh* It just isn't the same without Dareth ToT