The Tournament of Elements 2.0
Chapter 9 : The Greatest Fear of All
ItsYoGreenGirl : While Charlie may not be alone, he feels like he should be, the longer his family tries to help him in his dark hour, the more they pay the price for his actions, and his anger inside the Factory while they were completing that spell, proved he had enough, and Charlie's anger will probably go back down to nothing with Lydia by his side again, even if she was turned into a snake, but Charlie helped her see it isn't her looks that defines who she is, it's what's inside of her, and with Charlie wanting nothing but to send Clouse back to the world beneath them where he came from, the only question remains, will Charlie stop letting his anger get the better of him, or will his family keep paying the price.
Previously on the Tournament of Elements 2.0 : Charlie still worries about Princess Lydia before Chen and Lloyd tell him that she will be okay, Charlie then plays a game with his friends which gets him in a better mood, but doesn't last until Opal tells Lloyd and Harumi, that Clouse captured Lydia, Charlie goes in alone to save her and Richard, before he gets captured as well, and Clouse and Eyezor use broken pieces of the three Oni Masks to complete the spell, but Charlie notices the blood on Lydia meaning they tortured her, and gave her the mark of the Anacondrai, because not only was Clouse, Eyezor, and the rest of their army turned into snakes, ( Chen Included ), but so was Lydia, and while she calls herself hideous in front of Charlie, he tells her it's not her looks that makes him happy, it's who she is, but the question remains, will the spell be reversed, and will Clouse be stopped? Find out Now!
On the Destiny's Bounty
Princess Lydia is in the sleeping quarters looking at her reflection, wondering why Charlie and her friends can stand being around her, because Clouse turned her into a snake.
Just then Charlie knocks on the door, and looks in the room.
Charlie : Hey Lydia, can I come in?
Princess Lydia : yea, come in.
Charlie sees Lydia staring at herself in the mirror.
Charlie : You okay?
Princess Lydia : I don't know, your grandfather being turned into a snake again is bad enough, but the fact that i'm one also, I'm surprised that you can still stand being around me.
Charlie : I already told you Lydia, it's not your looks that define who you are, it's what's inside of you, and nobody can change that, because in my opinion your not just the princess.
Lydia then stares at Charlie, curious of what he's going to say, just as Lloyd walks through the door.
Charlie : Your also the Green Ninja.
Princess Lydia : Thank you Charlie.
Lydia hugs Charlie, and Lloyd smiles at the scene, seeing that whatever Charlie and Lydia are going through, they seem happy to be around each other.
Lloyd : I'm agreeing with Charlie on that.
Charlie : How long were you standing there?
Lloyd : The whole time.
Princess Lydia : Real funny, I just hope Ninjago doesn't go into a panic.
Lloyd : Sweetie, what is there for them to panic about?
Princess Lydia : Let's see, One is the fact that the princess was turned into a snake, Two is Clouse took over Chen's army and turned them all into Anacondrai, and Three is that for all we know, they aren't gonna stop at anything until all of our worst fears have come true.
Charlie : That may be, but as long as his army remains stuck on that Island, and Pixal has the only way to shut off the force field, then our only priority is finding Clouse.
Lloyd : Charlie's right, and speaking of which Charlie, maybe you should go find Chen and my father, they're trying to find them now, I'll see if there's anything for Lydia to do.
Charlie : Alright.
Charlie leaves the room, leaving Lloyd alone with his daughter.
Princess Lydia : I know this may still be a shock to you, father.
Lloyd : It was at first Lydia, but I'm not concerned, your grandfather and Charlie's mother were turned into snakes before, and yea Chen was one also, and is one again now, but the spell wore off eventually, and besides like Charlie said, you being a snake doesn't change who you really are, and as long as you don't quit, then I can see why he called you the Green Ninja.
Princess Lydia : Thanks.
Lloyd then left the room and Lydia followed him.
Meanwhile in the Bridge of the Bounty.
Chen : Hey Guys.
Master Chen : Hi, Charlie.
Charlie : Any luck finding Clouse?
Garmadon : Nope, I don't see why he hasn't attacked.
Charlie : Well I would say he may have learned from last time, but you got him sent to the Cursed Realm, so he wasn't involved in the last time, and besides he's smarter than to attack with that amount of snakes, a majority of them are still stuck on the Island, and unless or until they escape, he's probably gonna do nothing but keep his head down.
Master Chen : Fair point.
Charlie : Not used to being a snake again?
Master Chen : I didn't want to become an Anacondrai again, Charlie, like I said before, Arcturus was right, I became nothing but an impostor, a liar, a cheater, thief, you name it.
Charlie : That was because of your little mind games during the Serpentine War, and if Arcturus was here right now, even if you are still a snake, I'm sure much like he was with Pythor, he would be pleased that you changed your ways.
Master Chen : Thanks Charlie, I needed that.
Just then Richard and Siddie came to talk to Charlie, and he noticed they were holding hands.
Siddie : Hey Charlie.
Charlie : I'm guessing i'm not the only lovebird on this ship.
Richard : Real funny, Charlie.
Charlie : I was just kidding Richard, and besides it's not i'm jealous or anything, I think you two are perfect.
Siddie : Thanks, Charlie.
Charlie : Why were you guys keeping that a secret though.
Siddie : I don't know, just from the problems I was having with Eric, not to mention his jealousy over you and Lydia, I didn't want to make the problem worse, so Richard and I just figured to wait until we were off the Island.
Charlie : Fair point, I guess
Richard : I'm just glad that you have my back Charlie, and besides, I don't know what I'm going to do when this is all over.
Siddie : What do you mean?
Richard : Well it's not like I have a home to go back to, my parents are dead, my home was leveled in an earthquake, with these powers, and this path i'm walking down where in the world can I go and feel peace?
Charlie : What do you mean Richard?
Richard : I mean that this place is my best chance, this place that's called Ninjago City, where I know the Elemental Masters names, and they know mine, and who I am, and I'm sure we will all learn to live and peace and freedom and not just survive, as long as everybody sticks together here on the Destiny's Bounty, and fights as one.
Charlie : Amen, brother.
Siddie : Well at least you can still look on the bright side of things Charlie.
Charlie : Sure, just seems hard whenever I look on the bright side of things, the dark side always finds a way to strike back.
Master Chen : That may be, but there a few on the dark side who will strike against their own.
Chen was referring to himself, Skylor, and Garmadon.
Master Chen : I mean your mother did during the first tournament, Garmadon did during the March of the Oni, and I did during the second tournament, who knows if there are any others who will come to our side to fight against Clouse.
Lydia then comes into the Bridge when she sees Charlie talking to the others.
Princess Lydia : I just hope we can stop this before it starts a 3rd Serpentine War.
Charlie : I was still gonna say the 2nd, considering the 2nd Serpentine War only lasted a few days.
Princess Lydia : Fair enough.
Master Chen : And that was your grandfather's fault.
Chen was talking about Garmadon due to him banishing himself to the Cursed Realm to unleash the spirit of the Anacondrai General, Arcturus.
Richard : Eh, a war is a war, nothing more, nothing less, regardless of how long it may last.
Siddie : That's true, but from the times of the 1st Serpentine War, it seemed like that there were always people on the good side who would turn against their own kind,
Master Chen : That's true, and I will admit it.
Charlie : And there were also a few of the Elemental Masters who turned against our ancestors.
Princess Lydia : Then it was the Hands of Time.
Richard : And before the Serpentine War, it was my father.
Charlie : All I'm trying to say is be careful who you welcome into your life, some of those people may show their true colors in time, while others may try to take those people away from you.
Just as Charlie was finished talking, Lydia's hand turned back to normal and Charlie noticed.
Princess Lydia : Charlie, look!
Charlie : Your hand . . .
Garmadon : That means the spell is wearing off.
Master Chen : Good, just as long as Pythor doesn't come up.
Meanwhile near the Abandoned Tomb of the Stone Army, in Ninjago City.
Clouse : Why on earth is the spell wearing off!
Eyezor : If we try to attack now, and then turn back to normal, it will all be for nothing.
Chope : Remember sire, In order for the spell to become permanent, one must obtain the essence of a True Anacondrai.
Kapau : But the only real anacondrai that's left is Pythor, and he's been missing for decades.
Eyezor : Well if he's out there somewhere, then we need to find him, and fast.
Chope : We'll get right on it.
Meanwhile on the deck of the Bounty.
Charlie showed Lydia's hand to Skylor and Lloyd, which brought them relief that the spell was starting to wear off.
Lloyd : That's good news.
Skylor : The spell should wear off eventually, now if you kids don't mind I'm gonna go find Nya and Jay.
Skylor then left Charlie and the others to go find her friends.
Charlie : if that's true though, it's only gonna make Clouse and Eyezor more desperate to take their plans into action.
Richard : Well then maybe we should forget about Clouse and Eyezor, if Pythor is the only remaining Anacondrai, then we need to find him before Clouse does, in order for the spell to become permanent, one must obtain the essence of an anacondrai, so if they find Pythor, it's over.
Kai : Are you sure we can actually find him, he's been missing for decades.
Princess Lydia : Nothing left to do but try.
Charlie : Where's Pixal?
Pixal then walks up to Charlie and the others.
Pixal : I'm right here Charlie.
Charlie : You still have the remote to the force field right?
Pixal : Affirmative.
Pixal then showed the remote to Charlie to prove she still had it, and Charlie saw the force field was still up.
Charlie : Good,then we may not have to worry about all of Clouse's men anymore, but to be safe we should keep the force field on.
Richard : Pixal, maybe you can get Zane and Xavier to try tracking Pythor, because if the spell is wearing off, and Pythor is the only anacondrai left, then we could all be in danger if Clouse finds him first.
Charlie : Are you sure we should trust him.
Lloyd : I don't see why we can't
Kai : Lloyd, The last time we met with him, he came to our side to help us defeat Chen, but do you remember the reason why?
Lloyd : He said if anybody was going to take over the world, he'd rather it be him.
Kai : Then what happened on the Day of the Departed?
Lloyd : Oh yea . . .
Cole : Yea sure, he turned on you again, but at least one of our old villains fought beside us that night.
Cole was referring to Morro, because Morro warning Master Wu and the others had saved Cole's life.
Richard : Referring to my father?
Cole : Well of course, wish I could have thanked him for his choice on the Day of the Departed, he saved my life.
Charlie : I'm still on the fence about Pythor, but he's no match for us, and I'm sure much like last time, he would fight for the spirits of the real anacondrai, rather than the living lies of Clouse's army.
Misako : Like I once said, Cat as much Snake, he has nine lives.
Pixal : Understood, I'll go find Zane and Xavier and start searching for him.
Pixal then walks away to find the other nindroids.
Richard : Siddie, let's go ask Chen and Garmadon to try something else instead of searching for Clouse, if they start searching for Pythor too, we find Pythor, we find them all.
Siddie : Okay.
Richard and Siddie left to talk to Chen and Garmadon.
Charlie then looks at the view of Ninjago City.
Charlie : Come on Clouse . . .
Kai : What are you up to?
Meanwhile in the Dining Room of the Destiny's Bounty around 5:40 p.m.
Nina and Eric were playing a Card Game while Nya was talking to Skylor, and trying to help prepare food for the kids, since the other Elemental Masters have gone to other locations around Ninjago.
Nina : I wonder if Charlie will be okay.
Nya : Well he seems to be in a better mood Nina, i'm sure he's fine, sure Lydia is a snake now, but at least she's still here with all of us, i'm sure Lydia plus all of you is all Charlie wanted.
Skylor : I just want my son to be in a better mood, it seems like Charlie's problems were only getting worse, his anger was getting the better of him, and his friends were paying the price, which I'm guessing is why he tried to save Richard and Lydia by himself.
Nina : I knew he shouldn't have gone in there alone.
Eric : Then why did you let him.
Nina : He would have probably just ran in by himself anyways, seemed like there was no point in talking him out of it.
Nya : Perhaps, but Charlie will stop and think things through when he wants to, seems like he switches between using his father's idea of a plan, and his mother's idea of planning things out.
Skylor : Agreed, but with that sort of mind, and not only his powers, but his heart, I would say I agree when he claimed to be Clouse's worst nightmare.
Eric then stands up from the table and slams the cards in his hand against the floor.
Eric : Darnit!
Nina : I won again.
Just then Felicia and Kai walked through the door.
Felicia : What's the score Nina, 10 games to none?
Nina : Well it's 11 now.
Kai : Of course it is, my advice, if any of you get the idea of playing Mini-Nindroid Chess, do not play against Xavier or Zane, Jay tried once, and i'm sure it was 101 to none.
Skylor : Hey Kai, is Charlie okay?
Kai : Yea, he will be, seems Richard and Lydia are the ones to help him in these times.
Nya : Well it's almost 6:00 now, so we should get the kids in here.
Kai : Alright, i'll be right back.
About 5 Minutes later, Kai came back into the Dining Room with the kids.
Nina : I find this a little weird.
Richard : Why Nina?
Nina : I don't know, until we find Pythor, or at least until we stop Clouse, were gonna be living on this thing.
Siddie : To be honest I don't see what the big problem is with that, I mean before the Monastery of Spinjitzu was repaired, our parents lived on this ship, most of em anyways.
Princess Lydia : Yea, and to be honest, living on the Destiny's Bounty sounds awesome to me.
Lloyd : It was, it was our home for almost 4 years, between the time the Monastery was burnt down, to the time it was crushed by my father's stupid stone Oni Titan.
Just then there's a knock on the door, and Lydia let's Charlie in, but they are both confused why Lloyd locked it.
Charlie : Your highness, did you really need to lock the door?
Lloyd : Sorry.
Cole : I didn't think the door even had a lock.
Lydia then sits back down at the table and Charlie walks over to her.
Charlie : Look at you.
Princess Lydia : The spell is wearing off Charlie, though i'm certain Clouse's plans sadly have not.
Charlie : Right now until we find Pythor I don't think we have to worry about Clouse.
Charlie then sits down at the table next to Lydia, and they keep eating.
Siddie : So Richard.
Richard : Yea?
Siddie : What did you do with your life before that earthquake?
Siddie then noticed Richard sighed, before giving his answer.
Richard : Normally I wouldn't talk about Siddie, but your different than the others I have talked too, I can see that.
Siddie then smiled at Richard, but what annoyed them was Nina and Felicia's whistling.
Siddie : Do you girls mind?
Richard : Anyway. . .
Siddie then turns her attention back to Richard.
Richard : Up until I was around 6 years old I pretty much stayed in my house, at the time Stixx was filled with thugs or angry fisherman, so my dad tried his best to keep me out of that mess.
Siddie : Fair enough.
Richard : Then after I turned 7, I started fishing also, since I wanted to help my parents in any way possible, which worked out for a while, until I started getting too good at it, which drove my neighbors crazy, so I stopped.
Siddie : Lesson learned.
Richard : Then after about one month, that earthquake hit, and the ferry that was docked at the time was where we were all supposed to evacuate, we were almost there, when the building we were running through, got unstable, and since it was three floors, the entire building could have collapsed on us.
Charlie : Oh my gosh . . .
Richard : So when we were on the second floor, and the building was about to collapse, my father ran over to a big window near the staircase and threw me out, and I landed on the ferry, and just as I stood up, he told me to keep my head down, and not look back at the village. . .
Siddie : And?
Richard : The supports to the building went down, and so did the building, the roof of the building crushed my father, and the whole thing fell into the sea, and my parents with it.
Charlie : After that, where did you go?
Richard : I was constantly moving around between the Ignacia and Jamanakai villages, leaving among whatever I could find, and I went back to Stixx to see if there was anything left of our house.
Siddie : Did you find anything?
Richard then rolled up one of the sleeves on his suit and revealed a bracelet that had broken jewels on it.
Richard : The bracelet was my mother's, even though it's damaged it remains the only thing I have left of my parents, since my father was the one who gave it to her.
Charlie : Was it damaged when you found it?
Richard : No.
Felicia : What happened?
Richard : The second I walked out of the broken house I was knocked out, and I'm guessing I was unconscious for at least a few hours, because I woke up in an Alleyway in Ninjago City, and whoever knocked me out took my bracelet.
Charlie : How did you get the bracelet back?
Richard : I saw somebody standing on the rooftop of a shady building with it, and I climbed up a ladder on the side of the building, and I started attacking him.
Princess Lydia : Then what?
Richard : He pulled out a pocket knife, and after he pinned me down he was about to stab my heart.
Siddie : Oh my . . .
Richard : That was when I tried to hit him with both of my hands at the exact same time, and with one hand I grabbed the bracelet, and the other let out this huge force and blew him off the face of the building.
Nina : And?
Richard : That was when I realized I inherited my father's powers.
Siddie : The thief?
Princess Lydia : What happened to him?
Richard : I went to edge of the building and saw a man laying on the sidewalk, with civilians circled around him and were completely shocked, and I thought I heard a few of them calling the police.
Eric : Wait so you mean to say . . .
Richard : I killed him . . .
Everybody except Siddie and Charlie gasped, and they started backing away from the table, before Siddie and Charlie stood up and walked over to Richard when they saw tears were forming in his eyes, and they asked Richard to stand up, and so he did.
Richard : That's why I figured it was best to keep my distance from people, I didn't want to harm anybody else.
Siddie : While you did harm somebody Richard, it was just an accident.
Charlie : And besides, it's not past events in your life that define who you are, I saw the good inside you, and that's why I chose to call you my friend.
Siddie : The same way I did.
Siddie then kissed Richard, which he returned, and while Lloyd and Cole were still shocked by Richard's Story, they seemed happy at the same time at Siddie and Charlie showed Richard that there will always be people who care about him.
Richard : Thank you Siddie.
Siddie : Of course.
Charlie : If you guys are too scared of Richard, go ahead and leave, but just so you know, he's not just my friend, but also Siddie's, so he should be your friend too.
The kids agree with Charlie and they sit back down at the table.
Charlie : I'm pretty sure your not the only one who's gone through a traumatic experience like that Richard.
Lloyd : I certainly did.
Cole : So did I.
Richard : How's that?
Lloyd : My father was banished to the underworld shortly after I was born, and my mother abandoned me, and left me at the Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, before I was kicked out and was left living among villages the same way, before I tried to take revenge on the school, and Ninja took me in, shortly before my destiny was decided.
Cole : And my mother passed away when I was around 16, and my father tried to make me appreciate music as much as he did, so I ran away from the school, and was climbing mountains across Ninjago, because it helped me cope with the loss, before I became Master Wu's first student out of all of us, and becoming friends with them was all I needed to forget about what I went through.
Richard : Well it's nice to know that I'm not the only one to have gone through something traumatic.
Charlie : Another reason why we like having you as a friend, Richard, your not alone, and neither am I, my friends helped me show that, and I want to show it to you.
Richard : And you have Charlie, thank you.
Charlie : Of course.
Just as the kids were finished eating, Pixal walked into the room.
Pixal : Lloyd, Cole!
Cole : What's up Pix?
Pixal : I think we found Pythor's location,
Lloyd : Where?
Pixal : The Crashcourse Canyon.
Charlie : That's all the way on the other side of Ninjago, it will take all night for us to get there.
Lloyd : Well maybe you kids should rest then, and we can let you know when we reach the Canyon?
Princess Lydia : You sure?
Lloyd : yea Lydia, you kids go on ahead to the sleeping quarters, we'll find Xavier and the others.
Charlie : If you say so.
3 Hours Later
The kids then went to the sleeping quarters to go to sleep since it was 9:25, while Lloyd and the others were in the bridge discussing their plan.
Lloyd : Why on earth would Pythor be down there?
Pixal : I don't know, but this is where he was located.
Cole : In the amount of time it will take us to get there, he may already be gone.
Kai : Well if he is gone when we get there, there may be a few clues as to where he might have gone.
Nya : Sounds like a plan to me.
Master Chen : I just hope when we do find him, Lydia keeps her distance, Charlie certainly doesn't want her to be a snake permanently.
Lloyd : I don't either
Empress Harumi : Or me.
Skylor : But Dad, what about you, I don't want you to be stuck like a snake either.
Master Chen : I'll be okay Skylor, even if I do become one, if there's any chance the spell can still be reversed, even with the essence of the Anacondrai, then we'll figured it out together, but for now, just make sure Lydia keeps her distance from Pythor when we find him.
Skylor : Alright.
Jay then comes up to the bridge to talk with the others.
Nya : Hey Jay, the kids alright?
Jay : Yea, their all asleep.
Kai : Good, better for them to have their energy for when we get to that Canyon.
Cole : When was the last time we were there anyways?
Lloyd : Well the first time was when the Great Devourer was unleashed.
Kai : Then the second was during the Ninjaball Run where we all saw Captain Soto crash, seriously what was the thinking letting a guy with no eyes drive?
Everybody then laughed at Kai's joke, before they saw Master Wu come to the bridge.
Master Wu : What are you all doing?
Lloyd : Discussing our plan for when we get to the Crashcourse Canyon.
Opal : What exactly will the plan be, considering that Canyon has a quit a few places where the bounty can't fit through, not to mention Clouse may bring his men to take us down.
Cole : Oh no . . .
Nya : Cole what is it?
Cole : Or they may be trying to take us down now . . .
Lloyd : Oh . . . my . . . goodness.
Everybody sees about 60 Blade-Copters ready to start shooting the Bounty down, and they see a Roto-Jet in the middle of the group, and Clouse was flying it.
Clouse : Get ready for your end, Elemental Masters.
Next Time on the Tournament of Elements 2.0 : The Fight begins, with Clouse doing whatever it takes to Shoot the Bounty down, as Kai warns the kids, and they try to help defend the ship, while Nya tries her hardest to get to the Crashcourse Canyon as fast as possible, but with Clouse's men doing whatever it takes to bring em down, and the kids are fighting against flying Anacondrai, the question remains, will the Elemental Masters never quit, or will Clouse get revenge on Charlie for making his ship go down, by sending their's down?
Will The Elemental Masters defend the Bounty? Will they reach Crashcourse Canyon in time? Will Lydia be cured of the Anacondrai Spell?
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To Be Continued . . . . .
Quick Note : So there you go, if anybody was curious, you got Richard's story on how he ended up with the Young Ninjas, and I'm hoping I can continue this story,because I want to give it a few more chapters, and let my creativity with the story go on, but It may take longer, so you'll have to wait and see.