"Skylor?" There was no answer from the darkness and Lloyd had to guess that this was the 'trusting her' part she had mentioned. He felt for the wall with one hand, then reached forward with the other hand and slowly made his way down the tunnel. Before long he found a faint light and hurried toward it. Then he was running up an incline, and he burst into a dimly lit room.

"Skylor?" he called hopefully

One by one, the lights came on, and Lloyd found himself faced with the tournament roster, which now only held two contestants.

"The final round!" Lloyd whipped around as Master Chen spoke. "It all ends here!"

Lloyd mustered all of the courage inside of himself, trying not to appear as intimidated as he felt. "Well if it isn't Master Chen," he said with some authority. "Unhand the ninja or suffer humiliation against . . . the Green Ninja!" He put his fists on his hips, standing tall and trying to look as heroic as possible.

Master Chen merely chuckled. "Oh, I'm so scared! Go ahead, hit me with your best shot!"

Lloyd tried to concentrate and amass his energy. Chen waited patiently, albeit feigning a yawn, until Lloyd had gathered enough energy to throw at him. But Chen dashed out of the way with superhuman speed, and all Lloyd managed to hit was the far wall.

"Oh, please," Chen said from behind him. "What use is one element, or even four, when I have all of them? Shadow!" Chen backed away, vanishing from sight.

Lloyd's heart was racing as he looked all around, trying to guess where Chen might appear next. "I know what you're trying to do," Lloyd said, hoping to get him talking. "Skylor told us all about the spell. But the war is over!" He tried to summon something else, a ball of fire, a bolt of lightning, anything.

"Wrong!"

Lloyd gasped and narrowly dodged a fireball hurtling overhead. "I decide when it's over," Chen said. "And who doesn't like a blast from the past? Ice!" Lloyd ducked behind the roster which was encased in ice within seconds. Chen cackled maniacally. At least someone found this entertaining. Lloyd was having a hard time not letting his panic get the best of him.

I'm the Green Ninja, he reminded himself. I am the Green Ninja!

"Fire!"

Lloyd didn't have time to move before Chen blasted the roster and he was thrown up in an explosion of heat and flame before landing hard on his back.

"When my followers become Anacondrai, Ninjago will be controlled by those who deserve it: the most powerful! Gravity!" Chen slammed his staff on the ground and Lloyd found himself rising into the air.

"Whoah!" He flailed about, trying to break free or find some sort of control. His body was slammed hard against the ceiling.

A loud shot sounded and Chen appeared above, or rather, below him. Then he lifted Lloyd back into the air.

"What you have isn't power! It's stealing!" Lloyd shouted indignantly, but Chen ignored him and threw him into the hanging lights. Lloyd's head was starting to spin, and when his back hit a solid surface again, he couldn't tell what was up or down.

He tried to stand as Master Chen landed in front of him. "Real power doesn't take from others." Lloyd took a deep breath and leapt at Chen, but he evaporated into a cloud of smoke and Lloyd passed right through him. He crashed into the roster, which now featured a large crack running through its middle, right where Lloyd's own picture hung.

Lloyd stumbled as pushed himself back onto to his fe.et. He was breathing heavily and he felt like his legs would barely hold him up as he formed another ball of energy in his hands. He thought of his family and his friends, who were all now held captive by Master Chen. He couldn't give up. He had to win.

"Real power stops people like you!" With all his might, Lloyd fired on Chen. But in that same instant, Chen coated his body in a layer of metal, and the energy bounced harmlessly off him.

The blast ricocheted back to Lloyd and threw him once again into the golden board. Lloyd collapsed on the ground. He tried to force himself to his feet, but his legs wouldn't hold him up and he fell back down again. His body ached and he felt completely drained. He was fighting to stay conscious when he heard Chen's voice, as if from far away:

"Only one can remain."

. . . . . . . .

Nya stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Where was she? The last thing she could remember . . . she had been in the jungle with Garmadon and Lloyd. But then –

"Nya!" She looked up to see her sensei, chained to a wooden pole. It took her another moment to realize that she, too, was chained. Misako was on his other side. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes. I think. What . . . What happened?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Where's Lloyd?" Misako asked desperately.

"Oh no – I'm so sorry! I tried to stop him, but he just wouldn't listen, he thinks he has to defeat Chen all by himself! We were surrounded and I told him to run, but I don't know if he got away . . ." Nya rambled, trying to put together the disjointed pieces of her foggy memory. There was an ache in her head and she was having a hard time concentrating. It was only then that she got a good look at her surroundings.

Piles upon piles of bones surrounded them, and the foul-smelling air felt heavy and stiff. She guessed that they must be somewhere under the island, beneath all those trap doors that Chen was so fond of.

"We have to get out of here," Garmadon said.

Nya pulled at the chains around her wrists. They were fixed into the ground behind the pole, and were too short to allow her much room for movement. Still, she strained against their hold, ignoring the pain of the metal biting into her wrists. She had to get free, she had to find Lloyd, she had to rescue her friends. It couldn't end like this.

"My pet loves the smell of fear." Clouse's voice caught Nya by surprise as he entered, closely followed by Master Chen.

"Where's our son, Chen?" Misako asked, and Nya was surprised that she didn't break out of those chains and strangle him right there. "If you hurt him –"

"I have your son," Chen cut her off. "But his power will become mine at the ceremony tonight."

Nya lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Misako, Garamdon. It's all my fault. I should never have let Lloyd out of my sight."

Chen chuckled. "I wouldn't say it's all your fault. I did have a little help." Chen gestured back to the doorway, and Skylor stepped out of the shadows. Nya gasped, speechless. He couldn't be serious!

"You pitted the ninja against themselves, just as you did the Elemental Masters," Garmadon growled, though Nya barely heard him.

"Why, Skylor? I know you, I know this isn't what you want! You don't have to do this!"

"You don't understand." Nya could see in Skylor's eyes that this really wasn't what she wanted, but she could also see defeat. "My father gets everything he wants. I had no choice. Please, Nya, he's promised to let you go if –"

"I'd rather be snake food!" she growled, looking Chen straight in the eye.

Misako's voice was gentler now. "I know you're scared, Skylor, but you don't have to do this. Chen only has power over you if you let him."

"Enough! Skylor has made her choice, and she knows that her place is with her father."

There was a shrill squeaking sound of old chains and Nya saw that Clouse wore a dark smile. Behind him, a large metal door was being raised, revealing a wide tunnel shrouded in shadows. "My pet may be napping, but she's always hungry when she wakes up."

"You had a good run, Garmadon. But all good things must come to an end." Chen cackled as he turned to leave.

"This isn't you, Skylor," Nya called after her friend. "Don't do this!"

Skylor paused at the door. She gave Nya a last lingering look, and then she left.

"Chen!" Nya grumbled to herself. "That snake!" She pulled on the chains again with all her might, ready to break her wrists if it meant breaking free. She knew that Skylor would never have betrayed her friends if it wasn't for her father. Even in the face of any other enemy, Nya was certain that Skylor would have stayed loyal. And after her heartfelt confession on the night they received their invitations, Nya would have thought that Skylor would do anything to prove that she wasn't like him.

Nya finally paused. "It's all an act. It has to be." She looked at the gaping tunnel and gulped. A very good act.

"I think you may be right, Nya," Misako agreed. "But either way, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. Even aside from not being eaten, if Chen get's Lloyd's powers, there'll be no way to stop him. If she really is trying to trick her father, Skylor's still going to need all the help she can get."

"You're right," Garmadon said. "There isn't any time to lose."

As they continued to struggle in vain against their bonds, Nya eyed the bones around her. If she could find something wedge-shaped, she might be able to use it to dig out the chains. She grimaced but tried not to think about it too much as she stretched out one foot to try and drag some of the bones toward herself. But it was hard to focus. All she could think about was Skylor, and whether she would willingly trick her father, or if she really was too scared of him to fight back.