Sorry for the late update. I have had musical rehearsal every night for a couple months, but we just did our last performance. Hopefully I'll be updating everything soon!

Everyone gathered off the boat and Clouse and Joey walked up to the gates of the island. Clouse turned to Joey. "Treat this like you would serving your grandfather, it's just as serious. It's also just as dangerous if you speak out," he warned.

Joey nodded. "I got it. You act like just because I know a couple contestants–"

"If I recall, it's more than you just know them," Clouse mumbled.

The gates opened and Master Chen stepped out. "Welcome to the Tournament of Elements!" he announced. He looked to Clouse and Joey. "How many contestants?"

"All of them," Clouse said. "That includes both Masters of Water and Masters of Mind."

Master Chen nodded and addressed the others. "I'm glad you could all make it! First, I will have my guards show you to your rooms. Then, we will prepare for your first compitions."

Kai shouted up, "What does the winner get?"

Chen smiled mischievously. "There can only be one winner. The winner will receive ultimate power!"

A few people were satisfied with that, but the ninja weren't sure about it. Garmadon shook his head. "Coming here was a mistake," he said, keeping his voice low.

"Chen is up to something," Wu agreed.

Misako and Nya exchanged looks, neither needing to say anything to show their concern.

Chen clapped his hands and guards and servent girls came out from the gates. "You have an hour to settle in. Then meet in the arena for the first competitions!"

Everyone was lead inside. Chen stopped Garmadon, Wu, Misako, and Nya. "Ah! The Garmadon brothers!" He smiled. "And Misako. I'm so glad your three could make it." He disregarded Nya. "I had a spare bedroom set aside just in case you showed up. I heard you were training some of the Elemental Masters as ninja."

"Chen," Garmadon said. "I didn't ever expect you to be hosting a competition for the Elemental Masters. Tell me, what's your angle?"

"Angle? Me?" Chen questioned with a psychotic laugh. "You sure have that sense of humor."

"Just know we will be keeping an eye on you," Nya said.

Chen looked to the girl. "And who is this? Does she have elemental powers? I didn't set up a room for her. . ."

"She can stay with us," Misako said.

"I'll have my girls set up a bed immediately!" Chen decided. "She can't compete without powers, but having her here is great." He sent a smug look to Garmadon and Wu. Then he turned away. "Clouse, Joey, follow me. We have things to discuss and plan. And Joey. . ." He glanced back.

"Yes, sir?" Joey asked.

"I'm glad you could make it. Please, call me Master Chen! We're all friends here." Then he headed inside. Clouse followed behind and Joey rolled his eyes in annoyance before following them.

"I'm not sure who to be more worried for. The ninja, or Joey," Misako said. "At least the ninja have each other's back."

"Chen doesn't seem that bad," Nya said as they were led inside.

"It's all an act," Garmadon told her. "Do not be fooled."

"He said the prize is ultimate power, and he seems as though he is confident he can grant it," Wu said. "That is what concerns me."

Alex entered her room in complete awe. The light pink walls were lined with weapons of all kinds. There was a closet just big enough for her stuff, a mini fridge build into the middle of the left wall, and a bed in the middle of the black carpeted room. The sheets were hot pink and the pillow snow white. She tossed her bag to the closet and walked over to the right wall, taking a few daggers and throwing knives and putting them in her hidden pockets. She grabbed a pair of dueling swords and put them on the holster on her back.

"There is literally no way he knew," she said, almost breathless. "It's like my dream room!" She spotted the doors leading out to the balcony and walked out. She was on the top floor so right above was the clear morning sky. She looked to the right and saw one of the other contestants walk out. "Hey!" she called over. "Shade, right?"

The Master of Shadows turned to her. "Yeah? What about it?"

Alex just shrugged and leaned on the rail. "Nothing. I was just making small talk."

"If you're thinking about teaming, forget it," Shade said. "There can only be one winner."

"Team? With you? Please! Master of Shadows? Big deal," Alex said, acting as if the idea was just rediculous.

Shade faded into the shadows and appeared on Alex's balcony. "Oh really?"

"I'm excellent at reading people," Alex said, exaggerating a bit. "You're the loner type, aren't you? You won't last one round."

"At least my powers are better than yours," he said, glancing into Alex's room. "Master of Weapons? Doesn't that mean you have to have your weapons to use your power?"

"I don't need my powers to kick butt."

"And I don't need an alliance."

"Good, I would never ally myself with you anyway."

"Fine." Shade vanished again.

Alex walked back inside. She paused for a moment. "I could've played that better. . ."

Echo, Nancy, and Caleb walked into their room. Since they were all younger Master Chen had stuck them all into a room, but it still looked pretty cool. It was divided by two diagonal lines from the door out. The left half had the wall painted blue, the carpet was navy blue, and there was a bed against the wall with midnight blue sheets and star white pillows. There were at least six pillows, all lined along the bed that say snug in the corner. There was a dark oak nightstand next to it and a wardrobe next to that.

The area in the middle had dark red carpeting, brown paint on the wall, and a bed with maroon sheets and a blue pillow. The nightstand was on the right side of the bed, grey stained wood that was polished nicely. The wardrobe, located on the left side of the bed, was made of the same type of wood.

The right side of the room had light green carpeting, dark green painted walls, and a bed with sage covers and a white pillow. The birch wood nightstand was between it and the wall while the wardrobe was on the other side.

The three walked to their sides of the room and began unpacking. "Done," Echo said after just putting her bag in the wardrobe. "What about you guys?"

"Done!" Nancy smiled, closing the wardrobe and turning to Echo.

Caleb gave two thumbs up. He nudged the door of the wardrobe closed. Now what? We have an hour, he signed.

"We could jump on the beds," Echo suggested. "I don't see any sign saying we can't."

Caleb glanced around the room. The walls seemed to have no sign indicating any rules what so ever.

Nancy opened her nightstand drawer and found a note. "Hey, did you guys get anything that Master Chen left?" she asked.

Echo and Caleb checked their drawers, each finding a note. "Huh," Echo said.

Nancy silently read over hers:

Dear Nancy,

I promised you the source of your powers, which I will explain in this letter. Your father is one of the Spirts of Immortals. The Spirits of Immortals are three spirits, children of the Creator, who control the three things that no world can live without. Jikan, Spirit of Time. Ai, Spirit of Love. Yume, Spirit of Dreams. Your powers come from Yume. Your ability to talk to people in times of need is, in reality, you pulling them to the Dream Scape. It's similar to the Spirit Scape but only Yume, you, and whoever you want to talk to can enter it. I fulfilled my promise. I hope you're satisfied with the answer.

From,

Master Chen

Nancy swallowed dryly, hardly believing it. Her teacher told her the spirits weren't real, that they were made up before people really knew how things worked. Her teacher was wrong. It made sense though. She had no memories of her father except for as a man with no definite features. Supposively the spirits could look like whatever, or whoever, they wanted. She could never see him as one person. She looked up at Echo and Caleb.

Echo stared at her letter after reading it.

Dear Echo,

There is more to your grandmother that Misako will never share. She refused to fight at the beginning of the Serpentine Wars. She was willing to let Ninjago fall because of selfish reasons. Her name was lost to history and people only knew her as Storm. It wasn't until your grandfather came into her life that she changed. She joined for him. In a way, you two are alike. You would never have become a ninja if not for your sister. It's funny how things like that work. Remember this though, it may come in handy.

From,

Master Chen

She was a bit confused by it. If he was suggesting that she would turn her back on Ninjago for her own needs, he was dead wrong. Echo would never turn her back on her friends. She looked up and met Nancy's gaze. Then they both turned to Caleb.

Caleb sat down on his bed. He skimmed over the letter again.

Dear Caleb,

You have extordinary ancestry. Your grandmother was young when she faught in the Serpentine Wars. She had no powers like the other side, but she would fight just as well. The Master of Spirits introduced her to the Creator. He's the most powerful being in all of Ninjago. He fell in love and had his first and only mortal child with her, your mother. The Power of Creation is strong and powerful. Use it wisely.

From,

Master Chen

Caleb felt even worse about his parents' deaths. His mother had the same ability and she probably knew that he would too. Maybe if he had shown signs earlier, he could've saved them.

"Ca," Echo said. "You okay?"

Caleb looked up and nodded. He put the note back in the drawer and stood up on his bed. I need to think, he signed.

"So do I," Nancy said.

Echo stood on her bed. "I know what we can do to think."

"Three little ninja, jumping on their beds," Nancy sang lightly.

Echo smiled and added, "Just trying to clear their heads."

Then they stared bouncing on their beds.

Vanessa gaped at her new room. It was perfect! The walls were painted like the ocean and the carpet was beach sand colored. There was a fountain in the middle of the room and a purple bed on one side and a blue one on the other. She was confused why there were two beds, then her brother walked in.

"Oh come on, eh!" she complained.

Lar crossed his arms. "You're kidding. I'm stuck with the most annoying accent in the world, and the girl that comes with it, eh."

"Do not make fun of the way I talk!" Vanessa snapped. "We won't be in this room to gether long though, eh. I bet you're going to be eliminated first."

"Says my little sister."

"That's it! I'm not spending an hour with you! I'm going to find one of the others, eh," Vanessa decided.

"Clearly you can't handle much," Lar said. "Have fun with that."

Vanessa stormed out and stopped at one of the other rooms. She walked in. It was dark, but she could see that it looked like a cemetery. A girl was laying in the coffin shaped bed. "Tove?"

Tove sat up. "It's a lot cozer than it looks," she defended.

"I'm sure it. . . Wow, this room is just wow, eh."

"Perfect for the Master of Spirits. What brings you by?"

"My brother and I have to share a room," Vanessa sulked.

"Oh," Tove said. "Well, you can't stay here. I saw Alex on the top floor. Go find her."

"I think I'll just go look for Kai," Vanessa said. "I thought I saw him looking at that red haired girl, eh." She left.

Tove laid back down. She'd never slept in a coffin, but it was cozy. She wasn't sure she'd want to put the lid down though. She looked around as random spirits drifted in and out of her room. "This place better not be Blinkie infested."

Lucas was kinda swept to his room, losing track of Zoey in the commotion. He liked his room though. It was half painted teal, half painted tan. The only down side was he had to share a room with Neuro. He just walked to his side and sat down on the dark teal sheeted bed. He went through his bag for a moment.

"You realize we are fighting first right?"

Lucas glaced over to Neuro. No, he hadn't realized that, but he said, "Well, it doesn't surprise me. We're both Masters of Mind."

"I hate to break it to you, but I'll be winning the fight," Neuro added.

"Zoey's visions aren't a hundred percent!" Lucas snapped. "Just because she saw one thing doesn't mean it'll happen." He grabbed his bag and walked to the wardrobe mumbling, "You shouldn't have even looked at her thoughts to begin with."

"I think the better question is why didn't you look to see if I was bluffing or not?"

Lucas stopped and slowly set his bag down. He turned to Neuro. "Because if I was in danger at all, Zoe would tell me. We depended on each other for half our lives. We still do. So why don't you just back off and stay out of it."

Neuro gave him a semi-surprised look. "I guess I was wrong. You're nothing like your grandmother. You fell in love and yet you still care for your siblings."

"Yeah, when they're all you've got, you tend to do that," Lucas said. "I'm not sure what you meant about my grandmother abandoning her sister, but I wanna hear the full story at somepoint. I bet Joey knows something."

"Who's Joey?"

"Trust me, you'll be seeing a lot of him. He's helping Chen to pay off one of his father's debts."

Neuro nodded and went back to unpacking.

Lucas's hand went to where the Mark of the Underworld used to be. He rubbed it, as if the imprint was still there. It happened when he was agitated. And man was he agitated.

Zoey entered her room. It was pretty much empty besides the bed in the middle of the back wall, the wardrobe on the left, and the nightstand next to her bed. It was all icy blue, her favorite of all the colors. Simple, but not plain. She walked over to the wardrobe and set her bag inside before walking over to the nightstand.

"Comfortable enough?"

Zoey didn't jump. She turned to Master Chen and Joey as they walked into the room. "Where's your right hand man?" she asked. "Clouse is usually with you."

"Your powers are impressive," he said. "I heard you're not competing though."

"I don't fight. Besides, seeing isn't really an element," Zoey informed him. "I only came to cheer on my friends."

"Nothing will change your mind?" Chen asked.

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Then you leave me no choice. Joey!"

Joey stepped forwards. "I'm sorry, Zoey. My hands are tied. Until I pay off my father's debt, I have to do as he says." His hands glowed black.

Zoey's eyes turned white. She saw a faint outline of what was to come. "Joey stop! You don't know what he has planned."

"I've never questioned the actions requested of me before. I won't now," Joey said. The light transferred to around Zoey and she disappeared.

"I will see to her after the two losers of today," Chen said aloud.

"What do you have planned?" Joey asked.

"I promised ultimate power! You're a smart kid. Figure it out!" He turned around and walked from the room. Joey thought for a moment before following him and closing the doors.

Everyone gathered in the commons room early, a few getting to know each other. Others kept to themselves. Kai walked over to the girl in orange. "We never officially met," he said. "I'm Kai, Master of Fire."

"My name is Skylor," she said. "And wouldn't you like to know my element."

"Playing hard to get? That should be easy with Kai," Alex said, walking over.

"Ha. Ha," Kai growled. "Go bother Cole or someone else."

"I didn't come here to bother you," Alex said. "I'm avoiding Shade. He's been giving me weird looks ever since I accidently ticked him off earlier."

Skylor laughed. "You better hope you don't have to fight him."

"Hey, I can take him. My room was stocked with weapons. I can practically take on an army."

"Alex," Kai said. "Just go."

Alex looked to Kai for a moment and then back to Skylor. "So what is you element? Anyone else, I don't need to ask. It's pretty obvious for some people, but yours is different. Something that can be concealed and hidden until you have to use it."

"You're pretty close," Skylor said. "I'm the Master of Amber."

"Amber. . . wait, so you can absorb powers?" Kai asked.

Skylor smiled to took Kai's hand for a moment. He blushed and she pulled back. Then she created a flame in the palm of her hand.

"That's majorly cool," Alex said. "Man, my powers stink compared to. . . well, anyone here."

Skylor was watching Kai for a moment before she acknowledged what Alex said. "Your powers are just different. The Master of Weapons, your grandfather, he wasn't really born with powers like the others."

"Great-grandfather," Alex corrected. "And I'm actually not surprised by that." She looked over to Cole.

Cole saw Alex looking at him and he smiled briefly before turning to the conversation he had somehow got into.

"I mean, why should I have to share a room with him, eh?" Vanessa complained. "Just because he's the Master of Water and I'm the Ninja of Water? That's so not fair, eh!"

"Vanessa, maybe he'll be eliminated right away," Cole said. "Just calm down."

"And to top it all off, Kai is flirting with that red haired little. . . ugh!" Vanessa added. "What if I get eliminated first, eh? Kai will never look at me again."

"You're overreacting," Cole told her. "Besides, we're a team. We're sticking together no matter what."

"And if they try to split us up?"

They both jumped as Tove appeared next to them.

"There are nine of us," Cole said. "How do you expect them to split us up?"

"It was just a question," she shrugged. Her eyes wandered over to Zane, Jay, and Lucas. Mainly Zane, but he looked concerned. She nudged Cole and walked over.

"Maybe she just went to explore the island," Jay suggested.

"Without me?" Lucas asked, tears stinging in his eyes. "She's been nervous about being left alone since we arrived at the docks. Why would she just take off alone without telling us?"

"Who?" Vanessa asked.

"Zoey," Zane said. "Lucas went to her room but she wasn't there."

"Maybe one of the other contestants have seen her," Tove suggested.

"I've scanned everyone's mind," Lucas said. "Half of them didn't even notice her get off the boat. I'm really worried. What if she saw something bad and tried to warn us, but Chen took her?"

"I'm sure that's not the case," Cole said. "She'll turn up."

"I'll have a quick look around," Tove said, vanishing halfway.

"Attention Masters of Elements!"

Tove turned fully visible. "Ghostbusted," she muttered. "I'll look after he's done wasting air."

Everyone turned to Master Chen. He smiled and looked to Neuro, Lucas, Vanessa, then Lar. "This first compitions will be for the Masters of Mind and Masters of Water. Only one of them can compete in the tournament."

"Well that's not fair, eh," Vanessa complained.

"Please, you're going to kick your brother's butt," Jay said.

"I have to fight Neuro now?" Lucas questioned. "I'm not focused."

"The first fight will be the Masters of Water," Chen told the crowd. "Then the Masters of Minds will fight. Good luck to you all, you're going to need it!" He laughed psychotically again and left the room with Clouse behind him.

Joey slipped over to the ninja who'd all gathered after the announcement. "I hate working for him," he said. "None of anything I had to do makes any sense! The guy is mad!"

"Are you wanting to tell us anything useful?" Kai asked. "Like for Vanessa's fight?"

"I literally haven't seen any of the contestants practice since we got here," Joey said. "My advice would be don't let him get inside your head and and take him down without him actually knowing."

"What's that suppose to mean, eh?" Vanessa questioned.

"I can't explain. I have to go set up, too. Good luck." He vanished.

"Uh, anyone else find that a little weird?" Alex asked.

"It's Joey. He's always a little weird," Tove said. "I'm going to go search now." She vanished as well.

"Well, I hope Zoe is fine. Let the tournament begin I guess."