Chapter 3: Versus

Harsh winds blew just outside a wooden cabin with a light on the second floor. Inside said cabin was a few machines and gizmos lying about as a white female Abyssinian sat next to a workbench while typing something on a laptop that looked like it was made from different parts. Next to her would look to a very damaged android pony with only one leg and its exoskeleton exposed while there was a glowing circle on the left side of its chest.

The female Abyssinian kept typing on her laptop before she smiled when she stopped. "Well, that should do it," she said while giving a nervous look. "Though I hope this works," she added in concern as she pressed enter on her keyboard.

Just then, the android pony's eye started flickering and its remaining limbs shifted as its eyes brightened up in icy blue color. Not only that, but something appeared on her laptop screen. She took a closer look and saw what looked to be something walking through the snow and could guess it was the android pony. "Is this your memory or something?" She wondered before she saw the android pony fall into a cave when the ground gave in.

She could hear rattling chains coming from inside the cave before a big glowing ice dragon made of metal came out of the shadows. This caused her to quickly jump back before she noticed the Android Pony moving its hoof frantically like it was scared. She quickly turned off her monitor and went over to it. "Whoa hey, calm down! It's okay!" She told it before it looked at her. "Boy, you must be a very sophisticated robot if you're able to have dreams like that."

"It was only a dream?" the android pony asked as there were the sounds of static in its voice.

"Yes," the female Abyssinian said softly, "But it's over, and wow, that dream must've been something," She commented. "Anyway, let's get introductions out of the way. My name is Rivet, what's your name?" The android pony looked at himself as he couldn't remember its name. "I take it you can't remember, huh?

"I… I don't…" The android pony said, while trying to remember, but having trouble, "I-I don't know what happened."

"I think your memory core must've been damaged," Rivet theorizes with a concerned look. "But how, I don't know… You look like you just got out of an explosion when I found you." Suddenly, she felt a cold air blowing from an open window, causing her to shiver. "Man, it's the middle of summer yet a blizzard just happens to roll around? Super weird." She quickly went over and closed the window as she looked back at the damaged android pony. "Don't worry, I'm very good with mechanics and stuff. I'll be able to fix you, but I don't know how long it will take."

"Frost, are you still there?!" another female voice said as it turned to a window next to it and saw a Falcon. "Frost! If you can hear me wake up! You need to wake up"

Frost quickly opened his eyes and gasped, and found himself still chained up in Chen's dungeon. "It was another dream," he said to himself.

"It's amazing you dream," A female voice said from another cell as Frost turned and saw some lights flickering behind it. "I've always wondered what it's like. You've always been special," she said as Frost looked around.

"Where am I?" Frost asked before turning to his cell window, "Who are you?"

"I'm Pixal, friend," Pixal explained, revealing that she had also been captured by Chen. "And you're in danger and have to get out of here. Your memory drive is out of sorts and your elemental power…"

"Elemental power?"

"You're a Nindroid, Frost. A Ninja," Pixal told him as Frost rattled the chains on his front hooves. "And your friends are here to save you. As well as your mother. But your mother has been captured and your friends can't do it all. You have to remember who you are."

"Friends? My mother?" Frost repeated.

"Remember, Frost." Pixal continued. "You saved your friends and then a new friend found you and rebuilt you. There are things about you that you don't understand. That you have yet to discover." As Pixal spoke to him, Frost saw a couple of spiders crawl through a crack in the wall with clear confusion. "But if we're ever going to get out of here, you have to remember."

Frost thought for a moment before a bright smile appeared on his face. "Pixal," he spoke with realization and hope. "We are… compatible?"

"Yes, Frost. Yes, we are," Pixal replied.

Back in Equestria, Wu, Celestia, and Aqua are in the Samurai X cave while passing Aqua some tools she might request while working on the Harmony's Bounty they are repairing.

"Sure, Thunder's cute and funny, and I'm always laughing around him, but everything's about him, and he never takes me seriously," Aqua said while tightening a screw in, ranting about her ex-coltfriend while Celestia and Wu have grown bored that they fell asleep while standing. "More light, please."

That got Wu and Celestia awake as they lit up their horns, "Right," Wu said as Celestia nodded. "He never takes you seriously."

"Then there's Landrush," Aqua continued. "He's handsome, and I suppose I connect with him on a deeper level, but everything's so serious with him, not to mention, Gaia is in love with him, know what I mean? Socket wrench."

"Young emotions are… complicated," Celestia commented as she passed her a tool.

"Celestia, these are needle nose pliers," Aqua pointed out when she saw the wrong tool. "I asked for a socket wrench. And could you both at least try to impart some wisdom?"

"No way. We're not sticking our hooves into that beehive," Wu shook his head while Celestia did the same in agreement.

"Ruling Equestria was already a challenge, but relationships are something we do not cross," Celestia stated just as Spike, Starlight, the Young Six, the Serpentine Kids, Sombra and Misako entered the cave. "Any word?"

"Nothing," Misako sighed. "It's been days and still no word from Garmadon, Luna, the Council, or the Ninja. I'm worried."

"As am I and the rest of us," Wu said as the others nodded in agreement.

"This is really concerning. Usually, they never stay gone for this long," Spike said in worried. "Usually, Twilight and the girls would leave a note, but they've never been this gone before."

"Discord is searching high and low for them, but has found no trace of them," Sombra added. "It's like they just disappeared."

"We called out to our homelands, and they haven't found them either," Smolder spoke up. "Where can they have gone?"

"Perhaps it's time we broaden our search," Celestia suggested.

"But how?" Ocellus asked.

"Well, then it's a good thing I made a mobile base in case the Destiny's Bounty was ever out of commission," Aqua mentioned as she walked over to the main computer and started to type something. The floor opened slowly as something rose up from under it. "I call it… the D.B. Express!" she announced as a large six-wheeled vehicle with blades on its side rose up as Aqua frowned. "Mm, not married to the name."

"Find my family, Aqua," Misako urged.

"And our friends," Sombra added.

Aqua nodded as she jumped into the D.B. Express. But before the hatch was closed, Spike and Smolder joined in, which surprised Aqua. "Whoa! What are you two doing?" she asked.

"What does it look like? We're coming along," Smolder said with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, you think you can just show off an awesome vehicle like this and not let us have a joyride in it?" Spike asked sarcastically.

Starlight rolled her eyes and hopped in too. "In that case, I better come with you, just to keep an eye on these two," she said to the blue unicorn while gesturing to the two dragons. "Now punch it, Aqua!"

Aqua just shrugged before she revved up the vehicle. "We're on our way!" She exclaimed before she drove out of the cave.

"Wherever they are, at least our brother and sister are there to guide them," Wu said to the worried group, giving some comfort that Garmadon and Luna were with them.

"This is my husband we're talking about. And that's what worries me," Misako said in worry since her husband Garmadon may have been reformed, but she was not sure if he was that much of a guide yet.

"And Luna may be a good guide, but she sometimes doesn't have all the answers when it comes to, well… guidance," Sombra added in agreement, having the same feeling as Misako since Luna is not that much of a wisdom guide at times.

Silverstream then looked at Ocellus, Yona, and Sandbar with curiosity. "So, how is this whole double dating going on?" she asked as the three gave her a look.

Back on Chen's island, all the competitors were lined up in the cafeteria for some breakfast. The Master of Sound got his meal, "Next!" the lunchpony called out as Garmadon and Luna walked up next. But the lunch pony shook his head at the two. "Uh-uh, none for either of you!" he told them as they sighed.

"There's a valuable lesson here, young ones," Garmadon told Lloyd and Twilight. "If you and your friend turn your back on your first evil teacher in an effort to go straight..." he started before he and Luna moved away.

"Expect in the future to not be served creamy biscuits," Luna said with her head up in pride before muttering with a slight pout, "Even though they're my favorite..."

"Well, I know what we are being served," Lloyd mentioned as he and Twilight were next for their breakfast. "A whole bunch of horseapples," he muttered.

"Yeah, this isn't a fighting tournament. It's an alibi for Chen to steal every competitor's elemental powers," Twilight whispered to the others, "but we still don't know why he's doing this,"

"Isn't it obvious? Chen wants to take over Equestria," Trail muttered as he and Flash were next to get their breakfast. "I don't know what it is, but our home has had a string of bad luck."

"I'm not so sure," Flash spoke up. "From what Garmadon and Luna told us about him, he must be planning something even bigger."

"What could be bigger than taking over Equestria?" Rainbow questioned as she went next.

"Perhaps, taking over all of the lands that are connected with Equestria?" Gaia told her as she and the other girls went next. "Probably for revenge for being banished here in the first place."

"Whatever he's up to, we have to find a way to stop him," Landrush mentioned as he and Thunder were next.

"And may I remind us, we still don't know where Frost is," Thunder told the others as Landrush and Gaia did a double take as instead of his new Ninja suit, Thunder was wearing a blue robe and sleeping mask on his head. "Which is why we all need to take care of our first rounds to give us more time."

"Thunder, what in the world are you-" Gaia tried to ask but Thunder waved his hoof in front of her.

"Don't look at me. I've already moved on," Thunder quickly said.

"Your opponent got himself kicked out." Landrush corrected him as Thunder laughed in response.

"Ha, ha. Either way, it's my day off," he told Landrush before he looked at the lunch pony. "Extra creamy biscuits. And don't skimp," he said as the lunch pony gave him a stack of creamy biscuits as he walked up next to Landrush.

"Taking a day off?" Landrush asked in surprise at what Thunder just said. "And here I thought a Ninja never quit."

"And I used to think a Ninja wouldn't steal your marefriend!" Thunder retorted as he was still mad about the 'Perfect Match' thing.

Landrush growled. "Thunder, how many times do I have to tell you I did not-?"

"But I bet you were planning on it!" Thunder yelled, cutting off Landrush before he could say anything.

"Whatever you have to say to each other, say it now, because harboring grudges hurts no one but yourselves," Garmadon told the two before it could get out of hoof.

"He's right. You should be preparing to find your next opponent, not each other." Fluttershy told them.

"What grudge? I already dropped it," Landrush stated with his head up.

"Well, I dropped it first!" Thunder countered.

"Did not!" Landrush argued as he bumped Thunder.

"Did too!" Thunder countered as he bumped Landrush back. Landrush bumped back, which caused the two to bicker and Thunder to spill his tray.

Twilight then used her magic to pull the two apart and levitated them both in the air. "Enough! Both of you need to either talk it out like grown-ups or don't talk at all!" She told them with a stern tone. "Remember why we're here, and don't let this little dispute get in the way of that!" She then set them both down before Landrush looked at Gaia.

"Hey Gaia, about-"

"I just want to be friends!" Gaia quickly told him before he could finish and then walked away while trying to hide her pain.

"Oh, uh okay…" Landrush said with his ears dropped down.

"This tournament will test them, at their best and their worst," Luna told the others. "Either find a way for them to make peace, or neither of them will move on." Just as she finished, the sound of a gong was heard as Chen's voice spoke through the speakers.

"The Tournament of Elements continues. Fun time! Would the following Masters please make their way to their assigned arena?" Chen said over the PA before listing the elements,"Speed, Gravity, Smoke, Null, Mind, oh, and last and hopefully not least…"

"Huh, maybe we all get a day off," Thunder assumed before the last element was called.

"Fire!" Chen finished, which made Trail gasp as he turned to Topaz, who gave a worried expression. "Remember, only one can remain."

"Okay, is this 'only one can remain' thing gonna be his catchphrase?" Rainbow asked in annoyance.

"I think so, darlings," Rarity said with a shrug. "And it looks like it'll become tiresome after a while."

At an arena, the competitors were cheering while one of Chen's minions banged on the drums. Turner, the Griffon Master of Speed, and the Whitetail Deer Master of Gravity stood in front of a large peach tree with a Jadeblade at the top.

In the second arena, the Unicorn Master of the Mind and the Ram Master of Null prepared to fight in front of a large rock with a Jadeblade at the very top of it.

And in the last arena, Trail and the Kirin Master of Smoke stood on a bridge over a lava river as they faced each other, waiting for the first strike. At the center of the bridge, a Jadeblade was placed, waiting for somepony to claim it.

In the first arena, Chen spoke up, "Turner, Master of Speed, versus Gravitrope, Master of Gravity!" he called to the two competitors, "Fight!"

Turner then superspeed to the tree while Gravitrope flew up in the air. Turner weaved through the branches of the tree as he made his way up to the blade at the top. He stopped and was shocked to see the deer flying past him, manipulating gravity to carry him up. Turner was not going to let that stop him as he ran up a branch.

"Grey Psyche, Master of Mind versus Ramerak, Master of Null!" Chen spoke next as Grey and Ramerak glared at each other, "Fight!"

Grey then used his mind powers at Ramerak, which he felt coming as Ramerak talked in a foreign tongue.

Lloyd gave a scoff, "They call this a fight?" He questioned since there wasn't a physical punch.

Garmadon gave his son a smirk. "Wait for it," he said.

Grey kept using his powers on Ramerak as he saw a vision of him being hit by Ramerak's surprised null attack, which made Grey jump and dodge each one as he started climbing the mountain. Ramerak gave a roar and jumped after Grey as the Master of Mind turned and saw the Master of Null coming at him.

"Trail, Master of Fire versus Fallen Ashen, Master of Smoke!" Chen started as Trail put on his mask while Ashen, the gray Kirin, gave him a challenging smirk and chuckled. "Fight!"

Trail then started running to the Jadeblade, but then the Kirin grabbed the rail and did a spin, which caused the bridge to wobble. Trail struggled to keep his balance as he nearly fell off the bridge while the blade fell on a piece of rock near the lava. Ash then grunted as he charged forward while Trail moved under the bridge.

"Come on, Trail, you can do it!" Flash cheered from the sidelines as the two competitors reached the center of the bridge.

Trail then burst from under the bridge as he was about to kick Ashen in the chest. Ash then quickly turned into a puff of smoke right before Trail could land his kick and pass right through him. Ash reformed and laughed at Trail before he threw up a puff of smoke right at him. Traill grunted after that attack before he charged forward and traded blows with Ashen.

Trail was knocked back as he broke the planks on the bridge before he hung onto the edge of it as he looked at the lava down below, which the crowd started cheering as Chen clapped his hooves in excitement while Charm and Grimoire gave pleasing smiles. But those like the Ninja, the Mane Six, and Topaz, they gave worried looks at Trail, hoping he would survive and win this challenge.

With Grey and Ramerak, Ramerak gave a cry as he grabbed onto Grey's leg, which the Master of the Mind retaliated with giving Ramerak a mind blast, which knocked him to the ground.

"Never underestimate the power of the mind," Luna advised the others. Grey kept giving Ramerak a mind blast as was about to deliver a kick. Ramerak quickly rolled out of the way before using his power to grab hold of Grey as it grabbed his horn and his legs.

"I didn't see that coming," Grey grunted as he struggled to get free.

"In creature vs nothingness, nothingness usually wins," Lloyd commented with a smile as Ramerak gave a chuckle as he still held onto Grey.

With Turner and Gravitrope, the two were still in the tree as they each gave each other punches while Gravitrope was having trouble finding Turner due to his superspeed.

"What, can't keep up?" Turner asked as Gravitrope looked at him as the Griffon ran around the tree. "I'm over here. Can't catch me," he called as he moved closer to the tree.

Gravitrope gave a yell of frustration as he flew up, but then Turner tail-whipped him back and hit him with a tree branch. Gravitrope then focused his powers as he levitated some leaves.

"This doesn't look good," Turner said uneasily before Gravitrope then started hitting him with the leaves, as Gravitrope laughed at him as he kept peppering Turner.

Ashen was trying to knock Trail into the lava as he threw smoke bombs right at him. Trail dodged a couple of them before the plank he was holding on broke and he was holding on for dear life. "Whoa!" he shouted as he saw it was a long drop into some lava.

Topaz quickly covered her eyes with worry right before Trail swung himself back onto the bridge. "NINJA, GO!" Trail shouted as he did Spinjitzu while Ashen jumped back from the attack.

Trail tried to give a punch at Ashen, but he turned into smoke, and passed through the fire pony, and did a back kick, which knocked Trail back with a kick.

"Come on, Trail. Use your power," Lloyd urged.

Trail then summoned some fire to his hooves. "Fire!" He exclaimed, shooting fireballs at Ashen, who turned into smoke and dodged each one as some hit the planks on the bridge.

With Grey and Ramerak, Grey still struggled to get out of the ram's grip as he looked up and saw the Jadeblade, but before he could think of a way to get it, Grey did a mind blast at Ramerak, causing him to clutch his head in pain.

Grey saw his chance as he kicked the ram back and jumped on the rock pillar and quickly grabbed the Jadeblade and took it out of the rock, "Yeah!" Grey cheered as he held his blade high.

"Winner!" Chen announced before turning to Ramerak. "Loser!" He then pressed a button, causing a trapdoor to open under Ramerak. The ram yelled as he fell into the hole, while his picture was removed from the brackets and Grey's was moved forward. "Master of Mind moves on."

Turner zipped through the branches of the tree as Gravitrope tried to get a lock on him. He then spotted the Jadeblade at the top, using his power to hover it over to him. Turner quickly intercepted, grabbing the blade and holding it up high. "Yeah!" Turner shouted as the competitors cheered for him.

"Winner!" Chen declared before he gestured to Gravitrope. "Loser." He pressed a button to open a trap door which Gravitrope was hovering too high above to fall through. Chen then pressed another button to make a sandbag fall on top of Gravitrope, weighing him down through the trap door.

"Whoa," Turner gasped when he saw that. "How many buttons does that pony have?" he asked himself.

"Master of Speed moves on," Chen declared as the brackets changed.

With Trail and Ashen, Trail continued to throw fireballs at Ashen while the Kirin kept on turning into smoke to avoid the flames. This makes Trail grow frustrated as he throws two fireballs at him which Ashen easily avoids by turning into smoke before he charges right at Trail. Chen then noticed Grimoire and Charm about to use their magic before he stopped them. "Ah-ah! No magic," he told the twins. "I'm enjoying this."

Ashen then jumped and grabbed Trail from behind, but the Fire Ninja then threw another fireball directly at the bridge, breaking it in two as the two competitors jumped onto some pillars as they look at the Jadeblade as they gave each other challenging looks.

Ashen and Trail then exchanged blows as they threw punches and kicks over the Jadeblade, knocking each other back as Ashen jumped back to the Jadeblade, but Trail then charged at him, shooting a fireball. Ashen turned to smoke to avoid it but Trail used this chance to phase through him and take the Jadeblade before landing on one of the pillars.

"Winner!" Chen announced as the crowd cheered for Trail, while Grimoire and Charm gave disappointing looks. "Loser," he said to Ashen, who looked down in defeat. "Master of Fire moves on," he finished before he pressed a button, making Ashen fall down into a trapdoor with a yell as the brackets changed.

In the main room, Chen is sitting on his throne as he, Grimoire, and Charm watch the Kabuki dancing around and waving some fans as Chen laughs at this while his loyal servants turn to him. "Master, it was the Ninja and the Royals who snuck into our ceremony," Grimoire reminded him.

"And they have learned of our plans, yet we allow them to move forward?" Charm added before lighting her horn. "Please let us use our sorcery to ensure they do not interfere a second time."

"We'll use both of your magics in time, but not now," Chen said to them, which put the two siblings in the loop. "Not when there are other ways to whittle them down. Perhaps it's time to switch things up." Chen gave a maniacal laugh.

Charm and Grimoire understood what their master was saying as they joined in on the laugh while the Kabuki kept entertaining them.

A little later, the Ninja and Mane Six arrived at the brackets and saw the remaining elemental masters muttering amongst themselves. "Hey, what's this all about?" Flash asked as they walked up to the crowd.

"You all might want to see this, but you are not gonna like it," Maximum told them with concern.

"What do you mean by that?" Thunder asked before they gasped in shock when they got a good look at the brackets. The pictures of both Thunder and Landrush were moved so that they were next to fight each other.

"No. He can't do this," Landrush argued.

"He already did," Twilight said with concern.

"You and Thunder have to fight next, which means one of you will lose your power," Gaia retorted.

"Ah, but why does it say I have to fight Landrush?!" Thunder asked nervously. "It didn't say that before! I'm not ready to fight! It was supposed to be my day off," he complained.

"I tried to warn you, but you never listen," Landrush said firmly. "Talk? Yes. Listen? Not so much."

Just then, Grimoire and Charm walked up to them with smirks, "Is there a problem here?" Grimoire asked.

"You two cheated!" Pinkie accused while pointing a hoof at them. "You changed the brackets!"

"Oh, did we?" Charm asked innocently while not bothering to hide her devious smirk. "Our mistake."

"Well, good luck with your fight," Grimoire told them before they walked off as one of Chen's minions gave a laugh. As they walked off, Garmadon and Luna came up to the group.

"I see you have reached a rather precarious situation," Luna said to the younger ponies.

"What do we do?!" Lloyd asked his father and Luna. "They can't fight each other. We came here to become whole, not fall further apart."

"You can't undo what's been done," Garmadon told his son. "Our only advice is to be at peace with it."

"Peace!?" Thunder asked in disbelief. "One of us has to lose! Oh, my gosh. It's totally gonna be me! Landrush's got super strength and what do I have? Quick! Tell me! WHAT DO I HAVE?!" he demanded in a panic.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Twilight told Thunder before she slapped him in the face. "And don't listen to Garmadon. We just have to find Frost, get off the island then none of you have to fight."

"Twilight's right." Rarity agreed. "Plus, your fight isn't until tonight, so we still have time to figure out what Chen's up to and stop this."

"But how do we find Frost, with all the traps and the large Serpentine in the walls?" Fluttershy asked with concern.

"I think I know just the unicorn who can help us, and I think he already knows." Flash suggested, knowing of one Elemental Master who could be an ally.

It was nighttime at the courtyard as the Ninja and Mane Six walked up to Grey, who was sitting on a rock while meditating. "We need your help, Grey," Lloyd started before Grey spoke.

"You think I can get close enough to Chen to read his mind, so you can find your robotic friend and not have to fight," Grey said with his eyes closed.

"Don't forget…" Trail tried to speak but Grey continued.

"You still need to know what Chen's up to because he's hiding something," Grey finished.

"Whoa, how do you know what we're going to say to you?" Pinkie Pie asked with amazement.

"I'm Grey Psyche, Master of the Mind." He reminded her. "And yours is a very complex one as it has a bunch of rainbows and gumdrops, along with a bunch of other sweetness flocking around. Which explains so much about you," he said while pointing to the pink mare. "And by the way, Landrush thinks Thunder won't last long in the fight."

"Pfft. You think that?!" Thunder asked with a glare at Landrush.

"Well, you just said it yourself!" Landrush defended.

"But you didn't have to believe it!"

"Don't be offended, Landrush," Grey spoke up. "Thunder here thinks you're the least valuable Ninja."

"You don't say!" Landrush growled as the two ponies than started fighting each other again before Gaia broke them up.

"Hey, we came to you to ask for your aid, Grey, not to expose our secrets and cause further division among us!" Gaia told the Master of Mind.

"Oh, then perhaps you would prefer me to say how you've always admired Landrush for his good heart and how you know he will win because of how much of a hunk you think he is, which by the way is quite a lot?" Grey asked with a brow.

Gaia became stiff and blushed in embarrassment at what Grey just said as the group all turned to her in surprise, which made Landrush and Thunder stop fighting as they looked at her, while Landrush looked even more surprised by this. Gaia face then turned red in embarrassment, "Um… Uh… I… Um… That's… That is private information!" she stammered as her eyes blazed with anger and got ready to pounce on Grey.

But then Twilight stepped in. "Alright, thank you, Gaia. I will take over," she said firmly as she turned back to Grey while Gaia pouted. "We need your help, not to make things worse, for us or yourself," she said.

"But why would I help, your Highness?" Grey asked. "They're competition. The sooner your Ninja are 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, and why you will regret coming here," Twilight suggested seriously.

Grey then used his powers to look inside Twilight's head, which showed the memory of Chen stealing Yah-Karlof's powers with his staff, which made Grey shocked by this as he stopped reading Twilight's mind.

Twilight saw his reaction as she nodded at him, "Yeah, that's what this tournament is really all about. And it's only a matter of time before Chen steals your power too," she stated firmly.

"So, are you in?" Flash questioned.

Grey thought for a moment, knowing that they were right and if he lost, he'd lose his powers too.

In Frost's cell, the Ice Ninja struggled to free his hooves from his chains as he gave a sigh.

"Frost, you're built differently," Pixal said to him from the other cell. "You have to search deep within yourself," she advised.

Frost thought for a moment before he looked at his right forearm, which opened a compartment from which a shuriken-like saw came out, cutting the chains.

"Yes, that's it! You're remembering," Pixal said, having heard the saw cutting.

"Tonight's fight is gonna be epic," one of Chen's minions spoke from the hallways, which Frost heard as he turned to the door. "Who do you got? Thunder or Landrush?"

"I'm a Landrush pony. Never like the color blue," his friend answered, which made Frost nervous as he looked at his saw. "What's that grinding sound?" he asked. Frost quickly stopped cutting and retracted his saw and closed his eyes as one of Chen's men looked through the door and saw Frost still chained up. "Heh, guess I was just hearing things. Come on, let's go."

Frost opened his eyes as soon as they left before he heard Pixal spoke up again. "It's not safe. I suggest you break out when everyone's at the big fight."

"You mean, we must break out," Frost corrected. "Not only that, but we must find my mother and Rivet, the one who rebuilt me, before finding the others."

"Yes. Of course." Pixal replied, sounding a bit worried.

In the Kabuki changing room, the Kabuki were either getting dressed or putting on some makeup. Grey was hiding behind some ranks as he tiptoed to Chen, who was getting dressed with two Kabuki helping him.

"Not so tight," Chen said to the Kabuki.

Grey was about to get close to Chen, but Charm appeared behind him. "This floor is restricted," she firmly said, which startled Grey in the process.

"Charm. I was just leaving," Grey said nervously.

"I saw you speaking with the Ninja and the Princesses," Charm said suspiciously. "It'd be a shame if the other fighters were to find out you were… aligned with them," she said threateningly.

"Of course not," Grey lied with a smile as he placed his hoof on his head, "I'm the Master of the Mind," he told her as he read Charm's mind without her knowing. "I'm smarter than that." He slowly walked backward as he exited the room before Charm suspects anything else.

A little bit later, the crowd is in a big arena as they are either cheering or chattering about Landrush and Thunder's match as the Jadeblade is in the middle of the arena as Chen comes in and sits on his throne.

Thunder is in a cell door with Trail and Flash standing by. Thunder is punching or bucking on a punching bag with Landrush's picture on it, venting out his aggression on him.

"Think it'll be an easy fight?!" Thunder said to himself as he kept punching Landrush's picture, "Well, I'll show him!" he exclaimed with a few more punches before he backflipped and shot lightning at the punching bag, vaporizing it as he gave a laugh.

Thunder walks up to the remains of the punching bag before he sees Landrush's picture, which is slightly burnt but still intact as he feels concerned and guilty about fighting him. Even after all that has happened between them, he doesn't want it to come this far.

With Landrush's cage with Gaia and Lloyd, he was punching his own punching bag with Thunder's picture on it as he did a kick, but the punching bag swung back, hitting Landrush from behind, knocking him to the bars face-first.

Lloyd and Gaia cringed at that before Landrush turned around and did Spinjitzu as he destroyed the punching bag, but once he stopped, he saw Thunder's picture lying on the remains as he gave a concerned look, sure he was annoyed at Thunder, but he never wants to hurt him.

Grey then ran up to Thunder's cage as they saw him. "You're cutting it close," Trail commented to Grey.

"So, did you get into Chen's head?" Flash asked.

Grey painted to catch his breath from the running he did around the palace to get to them before giving them a defeated look. "I'm sorry. I couldn't get past Charm," he told them.

"Good," Thunder said as they turned to them, "Then we can finally put our feud to rest… gladiator style," he declared before a hoof smacked his face. "Ow!"

"You really need to let this go, Thunder," Flash said in annoyance.

"But I did see something," Grey said with a small smile, which got the three's attention. "For a brief moment, I saw inside Charm's mind," he said as he saw a vision from reading Charm's mind as she and Grimoire looked through a spellbook. "The powers Chen's collecting, they're for a spell."

"A spell? For what?" Trail asked.

"I'm not sure, but it's in their spellbook, on page 149. I also learned that it's not just powers that Chen is taking. Apparently, he's also been taking magic from the losers, which I suspect means he needs both Elemental Powers and magic for his spell to work."

"Wait, so not only Chen is stealing powers, but also magic as well?" Flash asked in shock, as did the others.

"Yes," Grey said as he gave a defeated look at the Ninja. "I'm sorry that it's not enough to stop the fight. I wish I could've done more," he apologized as Thunder gave a sad look.

"It's okay. You've done what you could," Trail said while putting an assuring hoof on Grey's shoulder as Flash turned to the others and shook his head at them, letting them know that the plan didn't work much.

Lloyd and Gaia let out a sign before they turned to Landrush. "You don't have to say it," he assured the two as he got the gist of it. "It was inevitable we were gonna have to face each other. May as well be Thunder. This fight's been a long time coming."

"Well, I'm not at peace with this, but that doesn't mean you still can't find peace with each other." Lloyd told him before he looked at Gaia. "And that goes the same for you too. We don't have control when we fight, but we do have control how we fight. Thunder's not your enemy, Chen is. Remember that."

"Wu once said the best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend," Gaia reminded Landrush.

"Yeah, but how are you supposed to defeat your friend?" Landrush asked before the bars lowered as a sign that the fight was about to start.

Fanfare began to play as Landrush and Thunder put their masks over their muzzles as they glared at each other. The others went up into the Stadium seats where Luna and Garmadon sat.

Before she joined them, Gaia turned to Landrush and hugged him. "Be careful," she whispered before she quickly joined the others.

"You tried your best. The rest is up to them," Garmadon told the others as they sat down.

"I hope they can see that too," Lloyd said in worried as they all looked down.

"Let the tournament continue!" Chen called as lights shined on the respective Ninja, "Thunder, Master of Lighting versus Landrush, Master of-" He was cut off when Landrush and Thunder started charging at each other and firing each other with their powers as they dodged each one.

Thunder shot a bolt of lightning at Landrush as Landrush dodged and sent rocks right at Thunder. Thunder flipped back to dodge the rocks before he stood tall and glared at his opponent. "Ha, ha! That's all you've got?!" he challenged Landrush. "Least valuable Ninja!"

"Eat dirt, Blue-belle!" Landrush shouted before he sent a wave of rocks and dust right at Thunder. Thunder quickly flipped over the attack before shooting electricity right at Landrush as he blocked it with his power.

"Oh, Grimoire, go get me popcorn!" Chen ordered as he clapped his hooves. "This is turning out better than I anticipated!"

In Frost's cell, he finally manages to free himself as he cuts the bars to Pixal's cell. "Hurry, Frost. Before they come back," Pixal urged.

Frost finally managed to cut the bars and went through the hole. "I'm through. Now let's get out of here," he said to Pixal as he entered the cell. But what he found on the other side shocked him to the core. Parts of Pixal were scattered around as there was a monitor on a small table which was the only thing that was lit up. "Pixal?" He walked over to the monitor to see her on it with a sad look on her face. "You're… You're…"

"Scrapped," Pixal finished what he was about to say. "I know, but I couldn't tell you. Not when you needed to get out of here. Sadly, this is where my journey ends, but not for you." Frost looked at her book that was placed next to the monitor and held it while he looked down with a sad look. "Frost, you must go alone. Find your mother, Rivet, and your friends. Stop Chen. I know you have it in you and you don't have to worry about me." Frost looked at her and couldn't bear to be away from her again. "I will always be a part of you." Frost then looked at her chip that was plugged into the monitor and got an idea.

"You're right. You will always be a part of me," he told her before he reached for the chip.

"Frost, what are you-" Pixal was about to ask before he unplugged the chip and the monitor turned off. He then reached behind and plugged the chip in the back of his head before he closed his eyes. When he opened them, Pixal appeared in his head and was amazed by this. "Frost, you've taken my neural drive and inputted into your processor. You're ingenious!"

"Not ingenious. Upgraded, thanks to Rivet," Frost corrected as he made his way out. "I'm sure there will be other surprises about me we'll find out together. But until then, let's both get out of-"

"Frost, behind you! Initiate evasive-" Pixal tried to warn him, but it was too late as Grimoire used a taser when Frost turned.

Frost fell to the floor after he got shocked as Grimoire turned to the guard, "Next time, maybe it would be best to tie up the Nindroid with chains thick enough that he couldn't cut through," he advised one of Chen's guards, who nodded in agreement as they looked down at the Nindroid.

Back with the fight, both Thunder and Landrush unleashed a barrage of their elements as they tried to get one over the other. "Stronger than you thought, eh?!" Thunder asked as he managed to push Landrush back a bit. "That's your betrayal flowing through my veins!"

"I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet when you're out of the tournament!" Landrush exclaimed as they tried to push more of their Elemental power against each other. Soon Landrush pushed and knocked Thunder to the ground as the crowd cheered. He then stopped to realize what they were doing. "What are we doing? I don't want you out. You're not my enemy, Chen is." He pointed towards Chen who was enjoying a bucket of popcorn.

Thunder got up, "Oh, sure, lower my guard by pretending to be my friend, then swoop in to steal the prize!" He said as he brought out his lightning while Landrush brought out his earth element, "Typical Landrush maneuver!"

"I never meant to hurt you, Thunder," Landrush said, shutting off his powers as Thunder walked up to him. "If I knew it would destroy our friendship, I'd take it all back," he said.

Thunder stopped as he gave a solemn look at Landrush. "Well, if we're being honest, I was upset about losing Aqua, but I take the blame for that, for not believing that you don't like her that much. I was more upset about losing you," he said to him with much regret. "We used to be good friends."

"The best! Right?" Landrush asked. "We should've been honest with each other, instead of bottling this up."

"Agreed," Thunder said in agreement before remembering the fight they were in. "But how are we supposed to stop fighting? We can't both win," he reminded him.

"Well, maybe we can draw it out till they call it a tie," Landrush suggested, having an idea. "Quick, attack me. But not hard." They both then charged at each other and started to attack, but not as hard as they did when they started fighting.

"Ah, what is this? Pattycake?" Chen asked as he was a bit disappointed that the fight went a little soft for him. "I'm bored!"

"Then why don't we make it more interesting by releasing the toys the good doctor and our feline friend made for you?" Charm suggested which peak Chen's interest.

"Oh, good idea. Release the Condrai Crushers!" Chen declared as he pressed a button on his throne. Thunder and Landrush turned to the door as four vehicles that looked all snake-like came into the arena as they circled around the two Ninja with spinning blades on the front.

Thunder and Landrush stood back-to-back with each other. "I got your back," Landrush called out.

"And I've got yours!" Thunder called before one of the vehicles came at them.

"NINJA, GO!" They both did Spinjitzu as they dodged the vehicle, and the driver groaned in frustration.

The driver then turned straight, "Huh?" he asked before he hit a wall, which caused him to fly out and hit it face-first.

"Ah, they're working together," Luna said with a proud smile as the others all smiled at their friends finally working together again. "Great work, ponies,"

"Yeah, we do listen to you and Dad every once in a while, Luna," Lloyd said to Luna with a small smile.

"They're finally over their grudge. And I'm happy for them," Gaia said with a proud smile, glad that Landrush and Thunder put their feud to rest.

"I wouldn't count our apples yet, they ain't out of the woods yet," Applejack said in concern, since now the two are in another obstacle in their way.

The Condrai Crusher kept circling the two Ninja as Landrush then ran up and slammed into the ground, creating a ramp which caused one of the Crushers to fly up. Landrush grabbed the tailpiece and slammed it into another Crusher as they hit the wall.

The last driver growled before he charged at Thunder, who jumped up and onto the crusher as he electrocuted the driver, who whimpered in pain as the crusher and blades stopped before they could hit Landrush as the driver fainted from the electricity. The crowd cheered at their performance as Thunder and Landrush shared a hoof bump with each other.

"Enough!" Chen called out with anger. "I know what you are trying to do! If neither of you will win, then both of you will lose!" He then started to press multiple buttons on his throne as a bunch of trap doors started to pop open all around Thunder and Landrush. The two of them backed up as the trap doors were closing in on them. They quickly jumped out of the way as more trap doors were popping up.

Chen continued to press multiple buttons as he had a grin on his face in hopes one of them would fall through the trapdoors. Landrush then got a good eye at the Jadeblade at the center of the arena before he turned to Thunder. "We can't both lose!" he exclaimed. "Chen's right, there can only be one!"

"And it should be you!" Thunder told him. "You and I both know I'm lucky to have even made it this far! And Gaia needs you more than me! You take the Jadeblade!" Landrush then made his way over as he flipped and jumped over the trap doors to the center of the Arena. He then climbed up the pole where the Jadeblade rested before he picked it up and threw it over to Thunder which got him by surprise.

"Winner!" Chen declared as he pointed to Thunder before he gestured to Landrush. "Loser. Master of Lightning moves on."

Landrush went to the floor as he took off his mask and looked at Thunder. "Aqua's yours, Thunder. I should've told Gaia how I felt," he said as Thunder looked at Landrush, seeing he sacrificed his victory for him. "Win this thing" were his last words before Chen pressed a button on his throne and a trap door opened up underneath him as Landrush screamed and fell through.

"Ah. About time," Chen complained before walking away. The rest of the Ninja, the Mane Six, Garmadon, and Luna looked down with defeat as one of them may have won, but they've lost one of their own.

"Landrush may be gone, but he did not lose," Garmadon assured the others. "Let what he did here today be a lesson for us all."

"Know thy enemy, but more importantly, know thy friend," Luna recited with a smile to the others. "He fought like a true Elemental Master of Earth."

Gaia frowned and looked down sadly, wishing she had told Landrush while she still had the chance, "You should be proud of him, Gaia," Fluttershy comforted with a wing over the earth Pony's back.

Gaia gave a sad smile. "I am," she said, proud of Landrush for choosing Thunder over victory.

Back in Equestria, Aqua, Starlight, Smolder and Spike drove through the Badlands while the blue unicorn looked through the binoculars while the other three latters looked through the window before they saw Frost's Falcon flying by.

"Hey, look, it's Frost's Falcon!" Spike called out, which caused the others to look up as the Falcon landed on top of the D.B. Express.

"Why did you call us here?" Aqua asked.

The Falcon squawks, pointing its beak to the monitor of Equestria. "I think it wants us to see something," Starlight guessed.

"But what exactly?" Smolder asked before Aqua pressed the button, making the scanner search Equestria before it turned to the edge of it and pointed to an island far from Equestria. "Hey, what's that?"

"It's Frost's beacon. Coming from somewhere off the coast," Aqua said in surprise, as did the others.

"Wait, Frost?" Starlight asked in shock, "But that impossible."

"But how can it be Frost's? We saw him blow up," Spike pointed out.

"But if Frost is there…" Aqua trailed off before she contacted Wu. "Sensei Wu, come in? This is Aqua, do you read? I think we may have found the Ninja and the Council, along with Frost Gear," she said as the D.B. Express kept driving through the Badlands.