Immediately after her father made his announcement, Skylor glimpsed a Jadeblade nestled on the edge of the roof right above her head. 

At the same time, she heard Kai muttering under his breath, "Is that—?"

"A Jadeblade," she finished.

Their eyes met.

Skylor vaulted herself over the banister at Kai. "That one is mine!" She shoved Kai to the ground, then jumped up and grabbed the awning overhead. There was only one floor between her and the Jadeblade, and she tried not to think about the four floors between her and the ground.

"Hey!" Kai was quicker than she anticipated and followed her up.

"Stop!" She tried to bat him away, make him lose his grip, but he fought back.

"You stop!"

Within moments SKylor found herself resorting to a one-armed catfight. He reached for the roof where the Jadeblade lay, but she caught his arm, intending to pull him away. He shrugged her off, and she lost her grip. She gasped as she fell backwards. Her hands reached for something to break her fall when she stopped short. She threw a concerned glance at the ground overhead before looking up to see that Kai had caught her by the foot. Oh, this was too easy.

Skylor reached out towards him, eyes pleading. "Help me!" she called desperately.

He fell for it, and with impressive strength, he swung her up, flinging her towards the roof. She caught hold of the tiled edge, and without even taking time for a breath, she plucked the Jadeblade from its perch. Kai's dismayed look made her grin.

"Sorry, Hot Tamale," she gloated. She heaved herself up onto the roof, dashed across to the other side, and made her way back to the ground.

When she arrived at the palace, she found that she was one of the first. Only the Master of Speed had beaten her there. She went to the rack where the Jadeblades were to be displayed and put hers into a slot.

"Well done, Skylor." She flinched at the sound of her father's voice. She hadn't noticed him standing nearby. "Of course I knew you would win."

Skylor harrumphed and turned away, not wanting to look him in the eye or even talk to him. It was hardly a compliment. Naturally, she had an idea of where all the blades were hidden, not to mention that she knew the layout of the island better than any of the other fighters. Yes, of course she would win. He didn't have to point that out. Or was he just trying to make her feel guilty for her advantage? Irritated, Skylor went to a distant part of the room to wait until her friends arrived.

It was bad enough seeing her father again after being away for so long, but now she could feel the tension between them, even as she kept her distance. Her gloved hands clenched and unclenched with agitation. She felt like everyone would be able to tell they had a history and find out who she really was. But why did it matter to her if the other fighters knew? She had nothing to hide. And yet, she didn't want to admit to who she really was. Maybe her friends could accept her, but that didn't mean anyone else would.

It didn't take long before Pixal came in and joined her, followed by the Masters of Ice and Lightning. Every time the doors opened, she would look up expectantly, and she realized before long that she was waiting for Kai to arrive. She had no doubt that her own friends could make it, but she might have taken his best chance to get a blade and move forward. Did she really want him to stay in the tournament that badly?

She hadn't been lying when she told Seliel that she wasn't about to go on a date with a dark ninja. She couldn't think of anything more bizarre than being with someone who you knew you would have to face in battle. But this was a tournament, where the fights were controlled, and Skylor would have liked the chance to have a proper fight with Kai one-on-one. He was a bit of a dork, but a handsome dork, and the first person to have ever shown an interest in her. She didn't think it would hurt to play along, just as long as the tournament lasted.

Seliel and Nya ran in when the palace arena was starting to fill up with fighters. "Good, the gang's all here," Seliel said after they handed over their blades. "Looks like we'll be making it to the next round."

"It appears that Wu's ninja are not faring as well," Pixal pointed out.

She was right. Only two of their members had made it back, and it looked like most of other fighters were already there. The display at the front of the room only had a place for two more Jadeblades.

Just then, the doors were flung open.

"Wait!" The black ninja came running in, waving a Jadeblade over his head. "I got one!"

"So much for that," Nya muttered sourly.

Skylor looked to the door again. She had really thought that Kai would find another Jadeblade. But then, it wasn't like she would have let him get away with hers either way. That would have been ridiculous.

Besides, there was still time, still one blade left to be found.

Skylor could see that her dad was growing impatient. The other fighters, too, were getting tired of waiting around. And now Kai's teammates were huddled together, probably trying to figure out who had seen him last and where he could be.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as heavy footsteps sounded from the hall. Everyone fell quiet, looking to see who would walk through the door and be declared a victor. The footsteps grew steadily louder, making Skylor's heart beat steadily faster. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Haha, Karlof wins!" The Metal Master held up the final Jadeblade victoriously as everyone cheered.

Skylor sighed. It's probably for the best, she told herself as she clapped along with the others. One less ninja meant one less competitor. But Skylor's father would only be able to take Kai's sword. He didn't have any other elemental power to speak of. Skylor wondered if her father would really want the sword, or if it could be used for the spell at all. She shuddered at the thought of all the damage he could do with the power of fire. Maybe it wasn't for the best.

As Karlof was celebrating his victory, one of his metal gauntlets, the one holding the Jadeblade, fell to the ground with a clang! Kai appeared from behind him, a screwdriver in hand.

"Looks like you've got a screw loose!" he remarked. With Karlof momentarily distracted, Kai snatched up the blade and dashed across the room. The Metal Master was hot on his heels, but just a hair too slow, and Kai leapt up to the display and set the final blade in its place.

All the fighters – all except Skylor and her team – cheered once again, their loyalties quickly changed.

Skylor herself felt torn. She should have been happy that he was going to lose, or at least satisfied that her opponent would be gone. But instead, she'd been disappointed, and now that he'd won, she didn't know what to feel. What's more, his tactics were muddy. At one time, she might have admired his resourcefulness. But now, she didn't think that it was something Sensei Garmadon would approve of. Then again, there was a lot at stake in this tournament. Maybe she would have done the same thing, if she'd been in his place.

Kai glanced in her direction, but she refused to meet his gaze.

"We have a loser!" Skylor's father announced with grand authority.

"That's not fair. He cheated!" Karlof whined.

Kai shrugged. "I did what I had to do," he said matter-of-factly.

Karlof was practically pouting as he said, "Fine. I lose. Karlof never wanted to be on stinking island!"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear you did not enjoy your stay," Skylor's father said with fake sympathy. "I guess it worked out for the best. This is – goodbye!" At the press of a button, a trap door opened and Karlof dropped down a hole away from view, his cries fading as he plummeted deep into the heart of the island. Skylor knew all too well what would happen to him from there.

Chen returned his attention to the competitors. "As you can see, lose and you are out. Break any rule, you are out."

One of her father's generals removed Karlof's image from the roster, dramatically crushing it with one hand into splinters. "Never bite the hand that feeds you: Master Chen delicious noodles! Now rest up. Tomorrow the tournament will recommence!"

. . .

The cafeteria on Chen's island, or 'chow house' as he called it, was as extravagant as the rest of the island. Red tables and glossy floors were accented with purple rugs and bright, warm lighting. The restaurant-style booths were walled off, providing enough privacy for the ninja to talk amongst themselves.

Jay hadn't thought he would care much about what happened to the other fighters during this tournament, and yet, the thought of Karlof beneath the island, beneath his very feet, kept pressing on his mind all throughout dinner. He was struggling to focus on his brothers' conversation.

"Skylor must be related to her," Kai said. "Or else they couldn't have the same element."

Cole made a face and spoke through a mouthful of sushi rolls. "How exactly can one be related to a robot?"

"I don't know, how would you explain the fact that they both have the same element?"

"Maybe the robot doesn't have an element at all. Maybe she's just programmed to do that stuff." Cole turned to Jay. "What do you think?"

Jay groaned. "I don't know. I don't know anything about elemental power! It's not scientific, it's just . . . magic, I guess. You couldn't program a robot to replicate that."

"Then how does she do it?" Kai asked.

"I don't know!" Jay said, throwing up his arms. "Nothing makes sense anymore!"

"I agree," Zane said. The one of them who was usually so calm and at ease had practically been sulking since the round ended. He had hardly even touched his food. "There is no logical way to explain it."

"I still say it's telekinesis," Cole said stubbornly.

But Zane shook his head. "The purple ninja said something to me earlier about metal. That would indicate some sort of manipulation over magnetism. Except that the only metal I've had each time we fought are my shurikens." His frown deepened and his gaze hardened. It looked to Jay like he was trying to solve an equation that hung right before his eyes.

"Surely that would not be enough to incapacitate an entire person," Zane continued. "And why would she not have simply used that ability to take the golden weapons from us before? And why is it always me?"

Kai laughed to himself. "Maybe she just likes you."

"Zane's got a point, though," Cole said, waving his chopsticks as he gestured. "We need to figure out what their elements are. We've got to be ready for whenever one of us finally fights them in the tournament."

"I wish we could just ask Master Chen," Jay said, looking around as if he would just be wandering around the cafeteria. But they had to take great pains to keep their alliance a secret, and they needed to wait for the right opportunity.

Jay thought again about Karlof, about him losing his elemental power to Chen. Jay didn't actually know what would happen to him after that, he'd never thought about it before. Chen couldn't just send him home, could he? And what would that mean for the girls . . . ?

Jay was tempted to bring up his concerns to his brothers, but he didn't know if they would feel the same way. Maybe he was just being too soft. Garmadon's ninja already had their chance to back out. Whatever happened to them now wasn't on his conscience.

"And what about Chen and his staff?" Kai asked. "There's no way we can trust him with that thing, right? But Master Wu didn't seem like he cared much about it."

"Too many questions," Zane said thoughtfully.

"Alright, here's the deal," Cole said. "Master Wu may not be worried about Chen, but I sure don't trust him. There's more going on here than he's letting on. We need to find out what."

"But how?" Jay asked. "If Chen suspects of us breaking our alliance he'll kick us out and Master Wu will be furious! Of course we know he's keeping secrets from us, but it's not like he's going to let us wander around the island until we figure them out."

Kai smirked. "Then it's a good thing we're ninja." He leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Meet me in my room at midnight."

A nasally voice broke into their conversation. "Mind if I join you?"

Jay felt a flash of alarm as the Master of Invisibility approached their booth. How long had he been standing there? "Disappear, pal!" he snapped. "This is private!"

Paleman did exactly as he asked and his figure faded away, leaving behind a hovering tray of food.

Jay sighed in exasperation. "I know you're still here. I can see your lunch tray!"

Without a face to show any expression, Jay could only guess at what he was thinking when he rematerialized. But as he walked away, Jay felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the others exchange glances.

The guilt quickly ebbed and he became defensive. "What? He was butting into our conversation. You know what Master Wu would say. We can't even trust Chen, let alone any of these guys!" Then he glanced around to make sure that no one else was nearby. "I'll see you tonight."

With any luck, they would be able to find out something useful.

. . .

Jay stealthily climbed down the balconies outside of the sleeping quarters, his dark clothes helping him to hide in the shadows and avoid the gazes of passing guards below. Kai was waiting for him when he reached the terrace crosswise from the fire ninja's room.

Just as Jay hopped down onto the handrail, Kai shoved him off. Jay let out a cry of alarm as he lost his balance and plummeted towards the ground. He narrowly caught the underside of the banister and was about to ask Kai what he thought he was doing when another voice cut him off.

"What was that you said?"

Skylor! Her room must have been right next door. Jay sorely hoped that Kai would get rid of her soon, because he wasn't sure how long he would be able to stay there. Just as he thought this, one of his hands slipped, and he found himself hanging by one arm.

Kai hurriedly tried to cover for Jay's outburst. "Uh, I said – OH what a beautiful night!" He threw a glance down at Jay.

"Come on, man!" Jay whispered through gritted teeth. He could feel his muscles straining already with the effort to hold on.

"What do you think happened to Karlof?" Skylor asked.

Kai hesitated. "At least he's out of the way, right?" he said, because it was the perfect time to have a deep conversation. "But I think we all knew what we were signing up for when we came here."

There was another moment before Skylor replied, "I guess you're right. I'm sorry if I was cold to you earlier . . ."

Okay, this is getting ridiculous, Jay thought. Out loud he said, "Psst! Kai!"

"Jay!" Kai hissed back. "Would you stop making noise!" The girl was still droning on about something when Kai finally cut her off. "Uh, yeah. Whoa, it's so cold out," he said, and shivered for emphasis. "Better call it a night!" He stepped back inside the room, sliding the door shut.

"Oh, okay. Sorry to have bothered you . . ."

Kai popped back out for one final, "Oh, okay. Good night!"

Jay might have felt for him, if he wasn't hanging on for dear life. But it was Kai's own fault he had taken so long about it. Skylor finally left, and Kai rushed back out to help Jay back onto the balcony.

"You just had to leave me hanging, huh Romeo?" Jay was relieved when he put his feet back on solid ground. At least now they could focus on more important things and get back to the issue at hand. Jay just hoped that, when the time came, Kai would be able to remember whose side he was on.