The sun was just beginning to rise when Pixal sat down at the dining room table by her teammates to discuss Master Chen's Tournament of Elements. She could see that Skylor was all business now, determined to stop her father. Garmadon, on the other hand, looked very troubled.

"I don't suppose that we could simply turn down Chen's invitation," he said, kneading his forehead in worry.

"This is a lot bigger than my dad just getting the power of the elements," Skylor said. "He's got this spell, and when he has all the elements he needs, he'll be able to turn himself and his men into Anacondrai."

Garmadon's eyes widened. "That's impossible," he breathed.

Skylor shook her head. "No, it's not. I've seen the spell. You know how he feels about the Serpentine. He thinks that once he becomes an Anacondrai he'll be the most powerful being in Ninjago, and that no one will be able to stop him."

Garmadon nodded. "He very well may be."

At that moment, Misako entered. "What's this about Chen becoming an Anacondrai?"

"It's Clouse's spell. You know Clouse, right?"

Garmadon and Misako both nodded. "I remember him," Garmadon said darkly. He went quiet for a moment, deep in thought. Pixal observed that everyone was very solemn now, mulling over their options.

Finally, Garmadon asked, "What do you suggest, Skylor?"

Skylor seemed a bit taken back, but nonetheless answered, "Well . . . if we want to stop him, we have to compete. I think we stand a pretty good chance considering that most of the other Elemental Masters won't be ninja like we are."

"But that just makes them all the more dangerous," Seliel countered. "They'll be more likely to fight dirty. What kind of rules will this tournament have?"

"They won't be allowed to cheat, that's for sure. My dad wants a good show."

"That's good, at least. But what's to keep us from just stealing this spell so they can't perform it?"

"Clouse probably has it memorized."

"What if we kidnap this Clouse guy and put him away somewhere?"

Skylor winced. "Easier said than done."

"Okay . . ." Seliel drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "Are there any other components needed for this spell to work?"

"Just my dad's staff, which he plans to use to hold all of the elements," Skylor explained. "It's inset with one of these crystals from the island that can absorb and hold onto elemental power even better than I can."

Pixal watched her friends with fascination, impressed by their collaboration. The two of them were bouncing ideas off of each other like lightning. Garmadon, too, was watching them closely, while Misako and Nya merely listened, not wanting to break their concentration.

"I know what you're thinking," Skylor continued, "But stealing the staff will be pretty difficult. You don't understand how big of an army my dad has created. And they're no Skulkin, either. There will be a ton of guards to sneak past, not to mention an underground labyrinth, Clouse's pet . . . it's too well guarded."

Seliel nodded. "So you think that it would be easier to enter the tournament and win fair and square."

Skylor made a face. "Not exactly. You realize, there's no way that my father is going to let anyone win. It's all a diversion." Skylor brushed her fingers through her hair behind her ear. "But it's still our best chance to get close to the staff."

"She's right," Garmadon conceded. "Our best option is to have you three enter the tournament."

All four girls frowned. "Three?"

Garmadon nodded. "Skylor, I'm sorry, but between your father's desperation to get you back and your ability to absorb the elements, I think it's too risky to let you go."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Your ability may allow you to only absorb one element at a time, but I'm still afraid that he or Clouse would find a way to take advantage of it even if we do get the staff."

Skylor furrowed her brow, thinking. Pixal thought that he had a point, thought she hated the idea of having to leave Skylor behind.

Misako spoke up. "You'll be safer here, Skylor. You may know about what your father is up to, but he also knows you too well."

Garmadon turned back to the rest of the team. "I will be going with you, as well. I know what Chen is capable of, and it would be ill-advised to let you face him alone. We'll pack up and leave for the pier at noon. We should be able to make it to Ninjago City with a couple of hours to spare. For now, however, we should all go back to sleep so that we will be rested for the journey." He rose to leave the room, and the girls followed suit.

But when they got back to their shared room, Pixal could tell that there would be no sleeping. Seliel and Nya were still buzzing with excitement.

"A tournament!" Seliel was saying. "Now we'll really get to test our skills!"

"Too bad he said no weapons," Nya reminded her. "I would have liked to test some of our inventions."

"Yeah, bummer. But it is a tournament of elements, after all. And that way it'll be more fair, especially for our opponents." She hit her palm with her fist. "Hey, I wonder if we'll get to go up against each other."

"Let's hope not," Skylor said. "But knowing my dad, he might arrange that."

Seliel's face fell. "I'm really sorry you can't come with us."

Skylor lifted her head and set her hands on her hips. "Who says I'm not?"

A smile crept onto Seliel's face. "Ooh, I think I see a plan brewing in that big brain of yours."

Pixal's eyes widened. "But Sensei Garmadon said that you are not to participate in the tournament. It's too dangerous."

"It would be dangerous for me to stay behind," Skylor reasoned. "You guys are going to need me there to help. I know the island and this tournament better than any other participant. Plus," she said with a grimace, "I forgot to mention that anyone who loses will immediately be imprisoned and have their elemental power taken away."

"Well that's a problem," Nya said.

"You'll get them back if we break the crystal in the staff! But being captured will mean we have less of a chance of breaking out and taking the staff. There's no guarantee that we'll win every round. That's why it's important we have four competitors instead of three – the more competitors we have to lose, the better."

"That's an interesting way of putting it," Seliel said dryly.

"I'm going with you," Skylor said. "You need me."

Nya nodded. "I'm in. We're not a team without all of our members. Nobody get's left behind, right?"

Then they all turned to Pixal.

She clasped her hands in front of her, anxiously running through potential scenarios and consequences. Skylor made a good argument, and Pixal couldn't see how they could do this without her. But she didn't feel comfortable with going behind Sensei Garmadon's back, either.

After a moment, she said, "Your reasoning is sound, but we would be disobeying Sensei Garmadon."

"Come on, Pixal," Seliel said. "What's life without a little rebellion?"

"I know that Sensei thinks he knows what's best," Skylor said. "And usually he does, but right now we can't afford to risk losing. There's too much at stake." 

Nya came and rested a hand on Pixal's shoulder. "We're not leaving without you, either. This is a team decision. What do you say?"

Pixal stared at the floor, still computing. If Garmadon found out, he would be very angry, his trust in them broken, they would likely be punished, and if they failed . . .

But humans, even sensei were prone to fault, and if Garmadon was wrong about this, the results would affect the entire world.

"You're right," she finally said. "The fate of Ninjago is more important."

"That's the spirit! Alright, start packing up," Seliel ordered. "We need to be long gone before Sensei wakes up again."

At that, the girls set about gathering their things. Skylor couldn't give them an exact estimate for how long they would be gone, but at least they knew to pack for warm weather. Pixal just hoped that they were really doing the right thing. She would hate to let Sensei Garmadon down.

. . .

Master Chen actually wasn't too bad of a host. Between his own men and Cole's team, he had been able to step up his progress and, soon enough, everything was ready for his tournament. It had taken a lot of magic, money, and muscle to get things going, but now the island was prepped, the roster was decided, and the invitations had been sent. All that Cole and his team had left to do was prepare themselves to compete.

Chen had even been nice enough to provide the team with fresh outfits. Cole liked the new gis. The lack of sleeves really showed off his physique.

"I think we look good," he said as he flexed in the dawn light. They were walking to the harbor, to the ferry that would take them back to the mainland. 

"That's what you always say" Kai responded good-naturedly.

"But do our gis always have to be so dark?" asked Jay. "Why can't we have more color? Besides, now everyone is going to know we're teaming up."

"I agree, the other competitors may not like it when they see that we are working together," Zane said.

Cole shrugged. "We'll already have our hands full fighting Garmadon's ninja. But as long as they lose, nothing else matters."

"That may be true," Zane said, "but if the others suspect that the tournament is rigged, then it will not bode well for Master Chen, either."

"We'll be careful," Cole said. "No one will suspect a thing." 

"It's too bad," Jay said. "I know I'd hate to lose my powers. Well, my nunchucks anyway. I mean, I only just got them."

Cole stopped at the gateway leading out to the dock and turned to face them. "Listen, this tournament isn't a game. We almost lost the Weapons of Spinjitzu last time we fought those ninja. This time, it has to be different."

"So you think Master Wu is right?" Kai asked.

"Of course he is right," Zane said. "He has never led us astray before. We cannot lose sight of why we began on this journey. We have something to fight for, and anyone standing in our way, whoever they may be, is our enemy."

"Zane's right," Cole said. "And so is Master Wu."

"They just didn't seem all that bad," Kai said. "At least, not like Garmadon."

"But how much do we actually know about them?" Cole asked. "I mean, apart from your sister. For all we know, they could be just as selfish and cruel as everyone else."

"Nya's not like that."

"I believe you, but while she may not be as bad as Garmadon, she's still helping him. Either way, she's on the wrong side, and if we let them win, we'll lose a lot more than just our weapons." Cole put a hand on Kai's shoulder. "She'll be better off this way. You won't have to fight her any more after this." He looked each of them in the eye as he said again, "This time will be different. Whatever it takes." 

They all nodded, and that was the end of it. Cole turned to push through the main gate onto the large steps that lead down to the dock. The ferry was there waiting for them. 

"We can still have a little fun, thought, right?" Kai asked. "I mean, this is a chance to really put our skills to the test against masters from all over."

Cole couldn't help but smile. "Well . . . I don't see why not, as long as the mission takes top priority." 

"Yeah, but they have full control over their elements," Jay said. "While we have to fight with these things." Jay whipped out his nunchucks with a shower of blue sparks.

He had a point, they were at a bit of a disadvantage. By being limited to their weapons – which would have to publicly be allowed, since weapons weren't technically permitted – Cole and his team wouldn't have as much flexibility or control.

"So it'll be all the more impressive when we defeat everyone," Cole said. Even if the tournament wasn't that important, he also looked forward to fighting the other Elemental Masters. He was excited by the thought of competition. The next few days were sure to be fun.

. . .

A/N: Ayyy look who finally got the cover done! You like it? It took waaaaaaaaaay longer than I thought it would. But that's the problem when you have a big cast, you gotta draw everything EIGHT times XP I'm excited for next week because it's a chapter I know you've all been waiting for... the two ninja teams are finally gonna have to cross paths again hehe... See you then!