Versus
In a snowy tundra, Zane somehow was wandering around aimlessly before the ground began to crack, causing him to gasp before he fell down the cravis and landed on some ice rocks, and fell to the floor into a cave with his arm broken off in the fall.
Zane picked up his arm and attached it back into place before he heard growling sounds. He looked up and saw a Titanium armored Ice Dragon with chains on its neck at the cave as it saw Zane and roared at him as Zane yelped with his back against the wall.
Zane started panting as he looked around for a way out. "Zane. Are you still there?" A familiar voice spoke up as Zane turned to the hole and saw his Falcon. "If you can hear me, wake up. You need to wake up."
Zane 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 Zane turned and saw some lights flickering behind it. "I've always wondered what it's like. You've always been special," she said as Zane looked around.
"Where am I?" Zane asked before turning to his cell window, "Who are you?"
"I'm Pixal, a 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?" Zane repeated in confusion.
"You're a Nindroid, Zane. A Ninja," Pixal told him as Zane rattled the chains on his arms. "And your friends are here to save you. But they can't do it all. You have to remember who you are."
"Friends?" Zane repeated.
"Remember, Zane." Pixal continued. "You saved your friends, and then rebuilt yourself. There are things about you that you don't understand. That you have yet to discover." As Pixal spoke to him, Zane 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."
Zane thought for a moment before a bright smile appeared on his face. "Pixal," he spoke with realization and hope. "We are… compatible?" He asked her.
"Yes, Zane. Yes, we are," Pixal replied happily.
Back in Ninjago, Wu, Nya, and Seliel are in the Samurai X cave. Wu and Seliel were passing Nya some tools she might request while working on the Harmony's Bounty they are repairing.
"Sure, Jay's cute and funny, and I'm always laughing around him, but everything's about him, and he never takes me seriously," Nya said while tightening a screw in, ranting about her ex-boyfriend while Wu grew bored that he fell asleep while standing. "More light, please."
Seliel then elbowed Wu to wake him up, "Right," Wu said, shaking off his sleepiness. "He never takes you seriously." He said while shining the light.
"Too bad you can't have Cole," Seliel told her. "He can be a bit serious but he's also responsible, honest and pretty easy on the eyes," She described with a smile.
"Well, beggers can't be choosers, socket wrench." Nya spoke up.
"Young emotions are… complicated," Wu commented as he passed her a tool.
"Sensei, these are needle nose pliers," Nya pointed out when she saw the wrong tool. "I asked for a socket wrench. And could you at least try to impart some wisdom?"
"No way. I'm not sticking my finger into that beehive," Wu shook his head.
"Maybe just give Jay another chance and who knows, maybe things will turn out better." Seliel suggested it to Nya. "Besides, he's not the one who tried to cheat on their partner." She added giving Nya a look.
"I know." Nya said with a sigh. "But after what happened with Zane, I don't think now is the time."
"Mmm, you make a good point." Seliel said with a soft look. "Even Cole had a hard time after what happened to Zane."
Just then as Nya came out from underneath the Bounty, Rachel and Luci came in while the new workers were keeping an eye on Garmadon's Monastery.
"Rachel, Luci, any word?" Wu asked.
"Nothing, Wu." Rachel said to them. "It's been days and still no word from Misako, Garmadon, or the Ninja."
"We tried calling Melissa, but she's not answering." Luci said in concern.
"Well, maybe it's time we started doing something about it," Seliel suggested with her arms crossed while turning to Nya, "Got anything we can use?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, I created another Mobile Base sometime ago in case the Bounty was ever out of commission," Nya explained as she went to the computer console, pressed a button as a large red, six wheeled, vehicle rose up,
"Woah nice wheels." Seliel whistled in amazement.
"Thanks, I call it, 'The DB Express! Not married to the name," Nya introduced with a look.
"It'll do," Seliel said with a shrug.
"Find the others, Nya." Luci said to her as Nya hopped into the DB Express.
"I'm on my way." Nya declared as she drove off.
"Wherever they are, at least my brother and Misako are there to guide them." Wu assured the girls.
"This is Garmadon we're talking about." Rachel pointed out. "And that's what worries us." She added as she and Luci shared concerned looks.
Back on the surface, the Ninja and the other competitors were in the cafeteria ordering lunch. "Next!" The canteen guy spoke up as Garmadon was next, but the man shook his head. "Uh-uh, nothing for you." he rejected as Garmadon sighed.
"There's a valuable lesson here, son." Garmadon said turning to his family, "If you turn your back on your first evil sensei in effort to go straight, do not expect to be served creamy biscuits," He said as he walked off with his head up.
"And here's another valuable lesson," Misako said as she gave an icy glare to the canteen guy as he went pale and gave her a large number of creamy biscuits, "You take care of your wife, and she'll use her charm, and intimidation to serve you well," She said proudly, offering some biscuits to Garmadon.
"Lloyd, can I be the one to say that you have a totally cool badass of a mom?" Melissa said with an impressive tone.
"Sure. Even I get that." Lloyd said with a smile before he frowned. "But I know what we're truly being served. A whole bunch of baloney." He said as Melissa frowned as well as she got her creamy biscuits. "This isn't a fighting tournament, it's an alibi for Chen to steal everyone's powers."
"I just can't believe that we've been tricked into going here." Ryan said as he got some biscuits. "What does Chen even want with our powers anyway?"
"I don't know Ryan." Jasmine said with a shrug before getting her biscuits. "But whatever it is, it can't be good."
"Isn't it obvious? Chen wants to destroy Ninjago City." Kai said with a shrug. "I don't know what it is, but that place has a string of bad luck."
"I'm not so sure." Cole spoke up. "From what Senise G's and Misako told us about him, I have a feeling it's something far more sinister." Cole said as he walked up for his portion while Jay next to him was still wearing his sleep wear.
"And may I remind us, we still don't know where Zane is." Jay spoke up. "Which is why we all need to take care of our first rounds to give us more time." He explained before Cole noticed his sleep wear, but before the Earth Ninja could ask, Jay waved his hand to him. "Don't look at me. I've already moved on."
"Your opponent got himself kicked out, Jay." Cole pointed out, reminding him of Karlof's elimination.
"Ha, ha. Either way, it's my day off." Jay said with a shrug before holding up his tray. "Extra creamy biscuits. And don't skip." He said before he was giving extra biscuits before walking off after Cole.
"Taking a day off?" Cole questioned in disbelief. "And here I thought Ninja Never Quit." He said.
"I used to think Ninja don't try and steal your girlfriend." Jay countered with a glare.
"I told you a thousand times Jay I wasn't trying to steal Nya from you!" Cole told him.
"Pfft yeah sure you're not!" Jay countered as the two glared at each other.
Lloyd then leaned over to his girlfriend. "Nya still hasn't told him about what she did yet?" He whispered.
"After what happened to Zane, I understand that it wasn't the best time." Melissa whispered back with a frown. "But once this whole thing is over she needs to tell him, otherwise it's gonna end badly."
Garmadon then walked up to them. "Whatever you have to say to each other, say it now." He said to them, "Because harboring grudges hurts no one but yourselves."
"What grudge? I already dropped it." Cole denied.
"I dropped it first." Jay said next before Cole nudged him.
"Did not." Cole retorted.
"Did too!" Jay said before they nudged each other many times that caused Jay's drink and biscuits to spill from his tray as the two bicker to each other.
Misako sighed. "I have a feeling this tournament will test them, kids." She said to them. "They need to either find a way for them to make peace, or neither of them will move on."
"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, Nature, Mind, Poison, Invisibility…"
"Heh, maybe we all got the day off." Jay said with a smile.
"Plants, Fire." Chen said much to Kai and Jasmine and the others shock. "And last but certainly not least…."
"Okay, maybe it's just Kai and Jasmine who's gonna compete." Jay said with a sheepish look.
"Darkness!" Chen finished, which made Melissa's eyes widened as she glared at Jay.
"Jay, do us all a favor and shut up." Melissa said with a glare, while Jay gave a sheepish look.
"Remember, only one can remain." Chen said.
At an arena, the competitors were cheering while one of Chen's minions banged on the drums. Griffin Turner, and The Master of Gravity stood in front of a large peach tree with a Jade Blade at the top.
"Turner, Master of Speed vs Gravis, Master of Gravity," Chen introduced the fighters, "FIGHT!" He declared.
Turner then rushed up the tree while Gravis used his power to float himself upwards, the two were still in the tree as they each gave each other punches while Gravis was having trouble finding Turner due to his superspeed.
"What, can't keep up?" Turner asked as Gravis looked at him as he ran around the tree. "I'm over here. Can't catch me," he called as he moved closer to the tree.
Gravis gave a yell of frustration as he flew up, but then Turner kicked him back and hit him with a tree branch. Gravis then focused his powers as he levitated some leaves.
"This doesn't look good," Turner said uneasily before Gravis then started hitting him with the leaves, as Gravis laughed at him as he kept peppering Turner.
Turner zipped through the branches of the tree as Gravits tried to get a lock on him. He then spotted the Jade Blade 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 Gravis. "Loser." He pressed a button to open a trap door which Gravis was hovering too high above to fall through. Chen then pressed another button to make a sandbag fall on top of Gravis, weighing him down through the trap door.
"Whoa," Turner gasped when he saw that. "How many buttons does that man have?" he asked himself.
"Master of Speed moves on," Chen declared as the brackets changed.
In the second arena, the Master of the Mind and the Master of Nature prepared to fight in front of a large rock with a Jade Blade at the very top of it.
"Neuro, Master of Mind vs Bolobo, Master of Nature," Chen spoke up as the two Masters glared at each other. "Fight!" He declared.
Neuro then used his powers on Bolobo, who started speaking gibberish.
"They called this a fight?" Lloyd questioned.
"They're not even touching each other." Melissa added with a brow.
"Not every battle exists physically," Misako told them with a smile.
"Just watch," Garmadon said knowingly as Neuro read Bolobo's mind and saw him focusing his powers to trap him in vines. Now knowing his opponent's plan, Neuro dodges the vines and starts climbing up the rock.
Bolobo yelled as he slammed his stick down, causing some vines to sprout for him to ride on as he was lifted up to the top as he gave a yell and wrapped Neuro in his vines. The Master of Mind got free and unleashed a mind blast at Bolobo, knocking him down.
"Never underestimate the power of the mind." Garmadon said wisely as they watched the two masters fight.
Neuro tried to hit him, but Bolobo quickly used his vines to catch the Master of Mind in. "I didn't see that coming." Neuro said as he struggled to break free.
"In man vs nature, nature usually wins." Lloyd said with a smile, thinking Bolobo might win.
Bolobo laughed as he kept Neuro down before he used his powers to make the vines to grab the Jade Blade, but Neuro uses his powers to give Bolobo a headache, making him clutch his head in pain and drop his staff,
Once Neuro was free, he climbed up the vines and the rock and quickly grabbed the Blade. "Yeah!" Neuro cheered.
"Whoa! How'd he do that?" Melissa asked in wonder.
"In Brains vs Brawn, the former usually wins," Misako told her.
"Winner!" Chen declared with a smile as Bolobo got his bearings. "Loser!" He called as he pressed a button, which opened a trap door beneath Bolobo as he fell down. "Master of Mind moves on."
In the third arena, Kai and the 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 Jade Blade was placed, waiting for somepony to claim it.
"Kai, Master of Fire…" Chen started as Kai put his mask on. "... vs Ash, Master of Smoke!" He finished as Ash gave a smirk. "Fight!" He declared.
Kai rushed to the bridge to get the Blade, but Ash then made the bridge wobble as Kai tripped and grabbed the edge as he saw the Blade landed in the middle of a rock pillar over the lava as Ash charged at where Kai is as the Red Ninja monkey bar under the bridge.
"Come on, Kai, you can do it!" Lloyd encouraged as Kai flipped over the bridge and tried to deliver a kick to Ash, who turned into smoke as he gave a chuckle and send a smoke punch to Kai, who shrugged it off as he charged at him again, but Ash turned into smoke to avoid him as he laughed as the two masters clashed it out with each other before Ash delivered a mighty punch to Kai, which send him tumbling and break some of the bridge as he was dangling over the lava.
Chen and a few contestants clapped and cheered at the exciting fight while Kai's friends and Skylor gave concerned looks.
Kai avoided the smoke attacks, but the wood broke some more as he was dangling even more. "Whoa!" He called as he looked at the lava as Skylor gasped and looked away while covering her eyes. "NINJA, GO!" Kai called as he jumped up and did Spinjitzu at Ash, who backed away as some planks were being tossed out as the two fought again.
"Come on, Kai, use your powers." Melissa encouraged.
Kai then lit up his fists in flames. "Fire!" He called as he shot fireballs at Ash, but turned into smoke to avoid the fireballs. Kai threw a double fireball at Ash who turned to smoke to avoid them as he jumped at the planks towards Kai.
Clouse was about to use his magic to get Kai out, but Chen stopped him. "No magic. I'm enjoying this." He said in surprise while Clouse looked disbelieved by that.
Ash held Kai, who fired another fireball at the center of the bridge, causing it to break as the two masters landed on the pillars beside the Jade Blade as the two glared at each other before they started exchanging blows while knocking each other away.
They looked at the blade before Ash turned to smoke and jumped towards it, but Kai gave a determined look as he jumped straight at Ash and threw a fireball at him, which made him turn into smoke as the Red Ninja went through him and grabbed the Blade as he landed on the pillar.
"Winner!" Chen declared as the Ninja cheered for Kai while Ash slouched in defeat, "Loser. Master of Fire moves on," He said as he pressed a button and Ash fell down a trap door and the bracket's changed.
In the fourth arena, Jasmine and The Master of Invisibility are in an arena that also acts as the palace garden while the rest watches from their seats.
"I must say, even as a garden, it's pretty." Jasmine commented while touching the plant.
"Jasmine, Master of Plants vs Mr. Pale, Master of Invisibility." Chen spoke up with a smirk as the Jade Blade was in the center of the garden between the two fighters. "Fight!"
Jasmine tapped her foot as a giant flower grew underneath her and lifted her up as Mr. Pale went invisible as Jasmine looked around for him.
"There's no way Jasmine can see The Master of Invisibility or win this." Ryan asked in concern. "If the Master of Nature couldn't go up against the Master of Mind, how can she?"
Jasmine then looked around as she then had an idea as she petted the flower below her. "Time to start some pollination." She quipped as the flower glowed as it sprouted some more flowers as they then started releasing some pollen around the area.
Just then Mr. Pale started sneezing uncontrollably as a silhouette of his figure appeared. "Dang allergies." He muttered while sneezing.
"This is gonna be quick." Jasmine said as she then turned to the plants. "But just as a precaution." She said as she rubbed the flower, which caused some vines to grow as they wrapped around Mr. Pale, causing him to get tied up.
"H-Hey! Let me go!" Mr. Pale called as the flower slowly guided Jasmine to the Jade Blade as she picked it up and held it high.
"Winner!" Chen announced as the crowd cheered.
"Way to go, Jasmine!" Ryan cheered as Jasmine gave a smile and waved to him.
"Loser!" Chen said as he pressed a button, which opened up a trap door underneath Mr. Pale, but the vines kept him in place as he sighed in relief before Chen pressed another button to bring out garden trimmers and cut the vines as Mr. Pale screamed as he fell down the trapdoor.
"Wow, that was a quick match." Chen noted but shrugged. "But who cares, Master of Plants moves on." He said as the brackets changed.
In the fifth Arena, Melissa faced the Master of Poison on an ice lake arena with the Jade Blade on an island in the center of the lake,
"Melissa, Master of Darkness vs Tox, Master of Poison," Chen spoke as Melissa put on her mask, "Fight!" He declared.
The two girls charged for the Jade Blade as Tox fired a poison cloud at Melissa but she jumped over it and fired a dark blast back at her. The two exchanged blasts while jumping from rock to rock until Chen pressed a button on his throne which caused the stone Melissa was standing on to shoot upwards.
"Wah!" Melissa yelled as she flung into the air before she righted herself and landed on another stone, "Whoa!" She yelped, jumping off the stone before it shot upwards too.
Soon numerous rock pillars rose and lowered from the lake, making it difficult to get to the Jade Blade, "D'oh, that's totally cheating!" Jay called out.
"We cannot control what Chen does, it's up to Melissa now," Garmadon told him as they kept watching in concern.
"Come on Melissa, please win." Lloyd said quietly hoping his girlfriend can move on.
Melissa and Tox dodged and jumped across the rising rocks while dodging and clashing each other. Tox sent a poison stream to Melissa, but she managed to avoid them and jumped to another rock.
"I have to guess, poison is that you control anything poison-related that is lethal or just slow them down?" Melissa questioned as she sent a dark blast at Tox, who avoided.
"Both actually." Tox said as she jumped towards Melissa as the two fought for a bit before they jumped back to their own rocks. "And as a bonus to winning, I get to beat one of Ninjago's greatest heroes." She added with a smirk.
"Yeah, a lot of people who said that ended up losing some teeth," Melissa said before she summoned more of her powers. "Darkness!" She called as she hit Tox dead in the stomach, sending her flying a bit before she managed to land on another rock.
"Oooh, now this one is more entertaining than the fire ninja." Chen said in excitement as Clouse sighed.
Melissa looked around and then she saw the Jade Blade a bit far from her as she turned to Tox, who got up and saw the Blade next as the two girls glared at each other. Then the two girls then jump on some rocks to the Jade Blade as fast as they could while everyone watches intensely.
Then as timed slowed down, Melissa and Tox both jumped towards the Jade Blade with their arms out, and then as they got closed, Melissa sends another blast at Tox, making her turn aside to avoid getting hit as Melissa quickly grab the Blade and flipped before landed on a rock as she held the Blade up.
"Winner!" Chen declared as the crowd cheered while Tox looked down in defeat. "Loser!"
Melissa then turned to Tox. "Hey, for what it's worth, you did good out there." She said to her.
Tox just gave a scoff and crossed her arms, "Thanks, you weren't so bad either." She admitted.
"Master of Darkness moves on!" Chen called as he pressed a button as Tox then screamed as she fell through a trap door and the brackets changed again.
Bit later, Chen and Clouse were in the throne room as the Kabukis were dancing and fanning their fans around while Chen watched in enjoyment while Clouse just crossed his arms.
"Master, it was the Ninja who snuck into our ceremony, yet we allowed them to move forward." Clouse reminded him. "I beg you, let me use my sorcery and put an end to this." He urged.
"We'll use your magic in time, but not now." Chen said with a smile as Clouse looked at him in confusion. "Not when there are other ways to whittle them down. Perhaps it's time to switch things up." He said before Clouse got what his master was saying as the two gave a maniacal laugh.
A bit later, the remaining Masters were looking at the brackets while the Ninja walked down from the stairs where they saw the masters chatting in excitement as they pushed them aside.
"What's all the commotion?" Jay questioned before they looked at the brackets before they gasped in shock at what they saw, what they saw were the pictures of Cole and Jay competing with each other.
"No! He can't do this!" Cole called out.
"Apparently he can," Melissa started.
"And he already did," Lloyd finished in dread.
"That's just not fair." Ryan complained.
"We gotta fight each other?!" Cole asked in shock as they looked at the bracket.
"Ah, but why does it say I have to fight Cole?" Jay questioned in panic. "It didn't say that before. I'm not ready to fight. It was supposed to be my day off."
"I tried to warn you, but you never listen." Cole said to Jay with a look. "Talk? Yes. Listen? Not so much." He added before Clouse went up to them as the Masters left.
"Is there a problem, Ninja?" Clouse asked in amusement.
"You cheated! You change the brackets!" Cole shouted with a glare.
"Oopsie." Clouse said in amusement as one of the Cults gave a laugh before Melissa grabbed Clouse by the collar and pinned him to the wall.
"Listen here, bub, and listen good." Melissa said with a glare with a growl. "While it's too late to change things now, let this be a warning that if you try to do something like that to any of us again, you're gonna get it!" She threatened before getting close to his face. "Cause don't forget, I am the daughter of The Overlord. And you wouldn't want to make me angry." She added as her eyes glowed purple as Clouse flinched a bit. "Understand me ponytail?!"
"Y-Y-Yes, indeed." Clouse muttered fearfully as Melissa let him go as Clouse quickly walked off.
Melissa then turned to Garmadon and Misako. "Now I understand why you two hate his guts." She said while shaking her head.
"Trust us, we certainly do." Misako nodded.
"Ugh, what do we do?!" Lloyd asked in panic. "They can't fight each other! We came here to become whole! Not farther apart!"
"You can't undo what's been done." Misako said to them.
"Our only advice is to be at peace with it." Garmadon added.
"Peace?" Jay questioned as got in front of the others. "One of us has to lose?! Oh, my gosh, it's totally gonna be me. Cole's got super strength and what do I have? Quick, tell me! WHAT DO I HAVE?!" He yelled out before Melissa smacked him on the face and he gave a shocked look. "Did you just slap me?" He asked lowly.
"I was trying to calm you down." Melissa said casually.
"WHY WOULD THAT CALM ME DOWN!?" Jay yelled again before Melissa slapped him again, shocking him, "Ow," He said with a look while rubbing his face.
"Get a hold of yourself, Jay!" Melissa told the lightning Ninjas in a firm tone, "Look, it's too late to change what happened. For now, we need to find out what Chen is planning and figure out where Zane is, get him out and none of us will have to battle."
"Yeah. Your fight isn't until tonight, so we still have time to figure out what Chen's up to and stop this." Lloyd said to them before Kai had an idea.
"I think I know just the person who can help, and I think he already knows," Kai said, knowing the right person to help them.
At night outside at the Courtyard, the fighters were talking amongst themselves while the Ninja walked up to Neuro meditating on the rock.
"We need your help, Neuro." Lloyd whispered.
"You think I can get close to Chen to read his mind, so you could find your robotic friend and not have to fight." Neuro said to them without looking.
"Don't forget…" Kai started but was cut off.
"You still need to know what Chen's up to because he's hiding something." Neuro finished.
"Dang, this guy's good." Ryan said as Jasmine nodded in agreement.
"Wow, that's pretty impressive, Nerdo," Jay complimented.
"It's Neuro, Master of the Mind." Neuro corrected with a look as he turned to them, "And Cole thinks Jay won't last long in the fight,"
"Pfft. You think that?" Jay questioned as he gave Cole a glare.
"You just said it yourself." Cole said in defense.
"But you didn't have to believe it." Jay said as he nudged Cole back.
"Don't be offended, Cole." Neuro said to him. "Jay here thinks you're the least valuable ninja."
"You don't say." Cole said as he and Jay started slap fighting each other.
"We came to ask you for your help, not try to tear us apart." Melissa said with a glare.
"But why would I help?" Neuro questioned. "You're competition. The sooner you're out, the better for me."
"If self preservation is what you're after then look into my head and you'll understand helping us would be easier for you," Lloyd told him.
Nauro gave a brow before he used his powers on Lloyd, where he saw Chen taking Karlof's power, which shocked him as he looked at the Ninja in shock about the true colors of the tournament.
"It's only a matter of time before Chen steals your power too." Lloyd said with a look.
"So, if you wanna keep your powers, are you in or out?" Melissa questioned as Neuro hummed as he thought for a moment.
Back with Zane, he was still having trouble breaking free from his chains as he sighed in defeat. "Zane, you're built differently." Pixal spoke up to him. "You have to search deep within yourself." She said as Zane looked down at himself before turning to his arm, which opened up to reveal a shuriken-like saw coming out and started cutting the chains. "Yes, that's it! You're remembering." She cheered.
"Tonight's fight is gonna be epic." One of the cultists said from out of the cell, which got Zane's attention.
"Who do you got? Jay or Cole?" Another cultist asked.
"I'm a Cole man. Never liked the color blue." The first cultist said as Zane flinched as he looked at his saw. "What's that grinding sound?" He questioned as Zane quickly retracted his saw as the cultist looked through the door and saw that Zane was pretending to be asleep.
"Hmm, eh, I guess I must be hearing things." The cultist said with a shrug. "Come on, let's go." He said to his friend as they walked off as Zane dropped the act.
"It's not safe." Pixal said to Zane as he turned to the window cell to her cell. "I suggest you break out when everyone's at the big fight." She advised him.
"You mean, we must break out." Zane corrected.
"Yes. Of course." Pixal said a bit hesitant.
At the Kabuki's changing room, Neuro snuck in quietly as some Kabukis were getting ready before he saw Chen with two Kabukis adjusting his belt.
"Hahaha, not so tight." Chen said to the two.
Neuro was about to use his powers, but Clouse came up behind him. "This floor is restricted." He said firmly as Neuro flinched.
"Clouse." Neuro said with a nervous smile. "I was just leaving."
"I saw you speaking with the Ninja." Clouse said with a suspicious look. "It'd be a shame if the other fighters were to find out you were… helping them."
"Of course not," Neuro said with a smile and a shrug. "I'm the Master of the Mind…" He said as he secretly used his powers on Clouse without him knowing. "I'm smarter than that." He said as Clouse looked at him as Neuro walked off.
Jay is in a cell door with Kai standing by. Jay is punching or bucking on a punching bag with Cole's picture on it, venting out his aggression on him.
"Think it'll be an easy fight?!" Jay said to himself as he kept punching Cole'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.
Jay walks up to the remains of the punching bag before he sees Cole'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 Cole's cage with Lloyd, he was punching his own punching bag with Jay's picture on it as he did a kick, but the punching bag swung back, hitting Cole from behind, knocking him to the bars face-first.
Lloyd cringed at that before Cole turned around and did Spinjitzu as he destroyed the punching bag, but once he stopped, he saw Jay's picture lying on the remains as he gave a concerned look, sure he was annoyed at Jay, but he never wanted to hurt him.
Then Neuro then comes up to Kai. "You're cutting it close. So did you see in his head?" Kai asked.
Neuro panted from the running he did before he gave a guilt look. "I'm sorry. I couldn't get past Clouse." He apologized.
"Good. Then we can finally put our feud to rest…" Jay said with seriousness. "...gladiator style."
"But I did see something." Neuro said as he gave a smile. "For a brief moment, I saw inside Clouse's mind." He said, having seen what appears to be a page of a spell in Clouse's head. "The powers he's collecting, they are for a spell."
"A spell for what?" Kai asked.
"I don't know." Neuro shook his head. "But it's in his spell book, on page 149. I'm sorry it's not enough to stop the fight. I wish I could've done more." He said as Jay looked down in sadness.
"It's okay." Kai said as he placed a hand on Neuro's shoulder. "You've done what you could." He said as he turned to where Lloyd was and shook his head to give him the news.
Lloyd sighed as he turned to Cole, who frowned. "You don't have to say it. It was inevitable we were gonna have to face each other." Cole sadly said. "May as well be Jay. 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 said to him while Cole listened. "We don't have control of when we fight, but we do have control how we fight. Jay's not your enemy, Chen is. Remember that."
"Wu once said the best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend but how can you fight your friend?" Cole questioned him as Lloyd couldn't give a good answer.
Then they heard cheering as the bars in Cole's cage opened as Lloyd and Kai went off before the fanfare sound started playing as Cole and Jay knew it was time as they put on their masks as the others went to where Melissa, Ryan, Jasmine Garmadon and Misako were.
"Let me guess, Neuro couldn't get the info?" Melissa guessed as the boys nodded. "I suppose we should've known that eventually we'd face each other eventually."
"You've tried your best, the rest is up to them." Garmadon said to them.
"I hope they can see that too." Lloyd said in despair.
"I think they already do and just don't know it," Melissa said hopefully before signing and shaking her head. "And this whole thing started because Nya was being stupid and listening to a dumb love matching machine."
"Even we find it a bit off." Lloyd said with a shrug.
"Yeah, Melissa told us about that." Ryan told them.
"And yeah we agree, that whole thing is Absurd." Jasmine said in agreement.
"Let the tournament continue!" Chen called as lights shined on the respective Ninja, "Jay, Master of Lighting versus Cole, Master of-" He was cut off when Cole and Jay started charging at each other and firing each other with their powers as they dodged each one.
Jay shot a bolt of lightning at Cole as Cole dodged and sent rocks right at Jay. Jay 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 Cole. "Least valuable Ninja!"
"Eat dirt, Blue-bell!" Cole shouted before he sent a wave of rocks and dust right at Jay. Jay quickly flipped over the attack before shooting electricity right at Cole as he blocked it with his power.
"Oh, Clouse, go get me popcorn!" Chen ordered as he clapped his hands. "This is turning out better than I anticipated!"
In Zane cell, he finally manages to free himself as he cuts the bars to Pixal's cell. "Hurry, Zane. Before they come back," Pixal urged.
Zane 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." Zane looked at her hand that was placed next to the monitor and held it while he looked down with a sad look. "Zane, you must go alone. Find your friends. Stop Chen. I know you have it in you and you don't have to worry about me." Zane looked at her and couldn't bear to be away from her again. "I will always be a part of you." She told him, Zane then looked at her drive that was plugged into the monitor and got an idea.
"You're right. You will always be a part of me," Zane told her before he reached for the chip.
"Zane, what are you-" Pixal was about to ask before he unplugged the drive and the monitor turned off. He then reached behind and plugged the drive 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. "Zane, you've taken my neural drive and inputted it into your processor. You're ingenious!"
"Not ingenious. Upgraded, thanks to you," Zane 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-"
"Zane, behind you! Initiate evasive-" Pixal tried to warn him, but it was too late as Clouse used a taser when Zane turned.
Zane fell to the floor after he got shocked as Clouse 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 Jay and Cole unleashed a barrage of their elements as they tried to get one over the other. "Stronger than you thought, eh?!" Jay asked as he managed to push Cole 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!" Cole exclaimed as they tried to push more of their Elemental power against each other. Soon Cole pushed and knocked Jay 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.
Jay 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 Cole brought out his earth element, "Typical Cole maneuver!"
"I never meant to hurt you, Jay," Cole said, shutting off his powers as Jay walked up to him. "If I knew it would destroy our friendship, I'd take it all back," He said.
Jay stopped as he gave a solemn look at Cole. "Well, if we're being honest, I was upset about losing Nya, 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?" Cole asked. "We should've been honest with each other, instead of bottling this up."
"Agreed," Jay 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," Cole 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! Release the Condrai Crushers!" He declared, which got the two Ninja's attention as they turned and saw two snake-like motorcycles with spinning blades coming into the area and spun in a circle around Cole and Jay.
"Okay now that's just not fair." Jasmine said as the others agreed.
"I've got your back!" Cole called as he and Jay stood back to back with each other.
"And I've got yours!" Jay called next as one of the Crushers then drove at them.
"NINJA, GO!" They both did Spinjitzu as they moved aside as the Crusher went past them. Which made the Cultist driving it sigh in disappointment before he looked ahead.
"Huh?" He asked before he crashed into the wall and his body got slammed into it.
"Ah, they fight together. Good work, kids." Garmadon said with a proud smile.
"Yeah, we do listen to you every once and a while." Lloyd said with a smile.
"Respect your elders," Melissa quipped.
The Condrai Crusher kept circling the two Ninja as Cole then ran up and slammed into the ground, creating a ramp which caused one of the Crushers to fly up. Cole grabbed the tailpiece and slammed it into another Crusher as they hit the wall.
The last driver growled before he charged at Jay, 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 Cole as the driver fainted from the electricity. The crowd cheered at their performance as Jay and Cole shared a high five 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 Jay and Cole. 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. Cole then got a good eye at the Jade Blade at the center of the arena before he turned to Jay.
"We can't both lose!" Cole exclaimed. "Chen's right, there can only be one!"
"And it should be you!" Jay said while pointing at Cole. "You and I know I'm lucky to have even made it this far. You take the Jade Blade."
Cole 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 Jade Blade rested before he picked it up and threw it over to Jay which got him by surprise.
"Winner!" Chen declared as he pointed to Jay before he gestured to Cole. "Loser. Master of Lightning moves on."
Cole jumped down as he removed his mask and walked up to Jay a bit. "She's yours, Jay. She's always been, I never do anything to betray you." Cole told Jay as the Blue Ninja realized he wasn't talking about the match. "Win this thing." He added as Jay took off his mask with a sad look.
Chen pressed a button as the trapdoor below Cole opened up and he fell down with a scream. "Ah. About time. Peh!" Chen said as he sat on his throne again.
The rest of the Ninja looked sadly at seeing Cole lose and went down the trapdoor. "Well, that could've gone better." Ryan said.
"Cole may be gone, but he did not lose." Misako spoke up.
"Let what he did here today be a lesson for us all." Garmadon added. "Know thine enemy, but more importantly know thy friend." He said while placing a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "He fought like a true Master of Earth."
Lloyd smiled back and Melissa thought for a moment, "Actually, maybe this is a good thing," Melissa said, as she turned to Ryan, Jasmine and Kai,
"Wherever Chen takes the Masters who's powers he's taken is where Cole is going," Lloyd told them.
"Meaning, if Cole can break out," Kai started, seeing what Lloyd and Melissa were thinking.
"He can find your friend." Ryan finished with a smile.
"And then when he finds him, we can all get out of this stupid place." Jasmine followed with a smile.
"Exactly." Melissa said with a smile as they looked off to where Cole fell in. "Cole might not have his powers, but it will be one step closer to finding Zane, getting him out and taking Chen down." He said as they all smiled and looked out in the arena, knowing that while this was a loss, they now had someone on the inside to find their friend and stop Chen's plan.
Back in Ninjago, Nya was driving the DB Express through the desert searching for her brothers and friends while having a binocular with her, but then Zane's old Falcon flew around and landed on top of the vehicle. "Why did you call me here?" Nya asked the Falcon, having had a call from it.
The Falcon squawks while gesturing to the monitor. Which made Nya turn to it as she pressed a button as the GPS then moved towards an island in the middle of the ocean while Nya realized what it was tracking. "Zane's beacon. Coming from somewhere off the coast." She said in shock. "But that's impossible." She said before she turned to the comms. "Sensei Wu, come in? This is Nya. Do you read? I think I may have found the Ninja… and someone else." She said as she then drove the DB Express across the desert, now has a lead to where her friends are while also having some intel on an old friend she thought was lost.
A/N: And that was Versus, and this was a good episode and it finally put Cole and Jay's beef to rest and we did the best we could for Jasmine's turn in the tournament and speaking of Jasmine her Elemental Power of Plants is very similar to Poison Ivy in the DC Comics, anyway I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter, leave a review and tell us what you think.
Up Next: The Tournament continues when they all have to Roller Skate and Nya continues her hunt for The Ninja.
Here's the Cast List.
Jillian Michaels as Lloyd; Tara Strong as Melissa; Vincent Tong as Kai; Michael Adamthwaite as Jay and Bolobo; Andrew Francis as Cole, Mr Pale and Gravis; Brent Miller as Zane and Ash; Kelly Metzger as Nya; Paul Dobson as Wu and Neuro; Mark Oliver as Garmadon; Kathleen Barr as Misako; Ian James Corlett as Chen; Scott McNeil as Clouse; Cristina Vee as Jasmine; Seth Green as Ryan; Jennifer Hayward as Pixal; Ashleigh Ball as Seliel; Veronica Taylor as Rachel; Alyson Court as Luci; Tabitha St. Germain as Tox; Doron Bell Jr as Griffin Turner.