Lyra Soun-Chen stood on the ship she'd seen a thousand times before, inhaling the familiar scent of the sea. She soaked up the dull sound of chatter surrounding her. The wind tossed her wavy ginger hair around, making it fly every which way, showcasing the colourful tips and random paint stains that never washed out. Her blue eyes sparkled silver in the reflection of the moon. She was thankful she'd had the foresight to wear leggings under her short blue skirt, although, even with them on, she was cold.

She glanced around for Skylor, grinning when she found her standing in a corner by herself. Her orange hood was covering half of her face, her arms were wrapped around her, her face was a shade paler than usual, and she was folded slightly forward. She was the perfect image of uncomfortable--or seasick. Lyra started to walk toward her sister, ready to initiate their plan, but stopped when she heard a loud splash. 

She turned, seeing Clouse standing beside an old man who definitely hadn't been invited. He had gray hair and brown eyes, and was staring at Clouse with undisguised contempt. She narrowed her eyes as she recognized him.

Sensei Garmadon. 

Her father had told her about him. He and his brother, Wu, were the evil masterminds who trained the ninja to cause chaos within Ninjago. 

"I stand corrected. There's room now," Clouse said.

Lyra frowned, wondering what he was on about. She decided she didn't really care about that and shuffled closer to the two, almost bumping into multiple people in the process. She muttered a few apologies and slowly pressed forward, her eyes not leaving the scene.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to compete. Only to look out for my interests." Garmadon put a hand on the shoulder of somebody standing next to him.

Lyra looked closer and realized with a start that the boy was wearing all green.

Lloyd Garmadon, otherwise known as the Green Ninja. 

She watched as he moved his blonde fringe out of his eyes. It was a scene she'd love to paint if he were any other person. But he wasn't any other person. He was Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon. The leader of the wicked ninja force that ran around destroying small towns for fun.

Lloyd's gaze, which had previously been fixed on his father, shifted to Lyra, and her cheeks warmed. She'd been staring at him for too long. He probably thought she was weird now.

You shouldn't care about that, Lyra, she reminded herself. He's evil.

Not knowing what to do, as they were now both awkwardly looking at each other, Lyra smiled at him, waving slightly. He grinned back, and the wind made his fringe cover his eyes again.

Lyra giggled at his disgruntled expression as he raised a hand to move his hair back. As if in a trance, she subconsciously took a step toward him. She wanted to get closer, to really get a glimpse of him, as he was half-hidden in the shadows. Lloyd mimicked her actions, moving closer to her. Before they could even get within arm's reach, though, a flurry of colour surrounded Lloyd and his father. The ninja around them all started talking at once, saying things Lyra couldn't quite hear.

Realizing she was still approaching the boy, Lyra paused, shaking her head quickly as she regained control over her limbs again. 

What was that about? she wondered. You aren't supposed to talk to him yet. The plan is to do that later.

Lloyd's head turned back in her direction, and Lyra quickly looked away, pretending she was paying attention to Clouse's monotone voice as he ordered the crew to ship out. She listened as the familiar sound of her sister's footsteps drew closer.

"Hey, who are you?" Skylor tapped Lyra on the shoulder. 

Lyra, glad for an excuse to turn away from Lloyd, smiled at her sister. "I'm Lyra, you?"

Skylor grinned and moved her hair further into her orange hood. "Skylor. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

The two walked away, heading for the railing of the boat. They both leaned on it, resting their elbows on the engraved wood. 

They gazed at the endless ocean, watching the moon's reflection in the rippling waves.

"I really like your hoodie," Lyra offered, gesturing at the orange sweater. She tried not to smile at the irony of her words. Of course she liked it. She'd been the one to design it.

"Thank you! I think your shirt is cool!" Skylor smiled. Of course she liked it. She'd been the one to pick the deep purple colour. "May I ask why there's a paintbrush in the pocket?"

Lyra glanced down at her shirt. Her sister was right. Lyra's second favourite brush was tucked away in the pink pocket. "Oh, I must've forgotten about it. I was painting before I came here." 

That part was true. She'd been trying to capture the majesty of the Jade Blades but had gotten so absorbed in her art that she would've missed the ship's departure completely if not for Skylor.

Oh, it still has paint on it. Lyra scowled as she noticed the flecks of green. She absolutely despised dirty paintbrushes. They were the bane of her existence and had ruined multiple articles of clothing, including her favourite purple leggings. They'd also stained her hair so many times, and, because of her element, the stains never came out, so her orange hair had permanent specks of blue and green and gold and red and purple and every colour in between.

Skylor got closer to her, muttering, "Have you memorized which person has which power?"

"Of course. You?" Lyra matched her volume.

"Duh. It's pretty easy."

"Wanna people-watch?" Lyra suggested. It was their favourite activity whenever they went to the city.

"When don't I?" 

They both sat down, backs to the railing. Lyra fidgeted with the ends of her blue skirt. "The ninja are over by the middle of the boat."

They were standing in a group close to the stairs. Garmadon had just said something that rendered all the ninja shocked.

"Uh, are you implying that I'm not special?" Jay, the auburn-haired Lightning Ninja, asked his sensei.

"Everyone on this ship is a descendant of an original Elemental Master," Garmadon told him.

"Elemental Masters?" Lloyd asked. "Who were they?"

"Do they not know this?" Lyra wondered aloud. "I thought it was common knowledge."

"They're probably too self-absorbed to have even considered the idea of others being as powerful as them," Skylor snorted.

Lyra had to agree. As their father had taught them, the ninjas were selfish, egotistical, spoiled brats who thought they could do whatever they pleased. And Lyra and Skylor were supposed to pretend to befriend them. Ew.

Although...Lloyd had seemed pretty friendly...

No, Lyra, that's all an act. He's the wicked, foul, dishonourable leader of the evil ninja.

"They were the First Spinjitzu Master's guardians, each endowed with an Elemental Power that has now been passed down through generations."

"If that's true, then so is my sister Nya," the fire ninja, Kai (who had really weird, spiky brown hair), said. "But she can't do what I can."

"Can't she? Power lies in all of you," Garmadon lectured. "It only needs to be awoken. The fighters here serve no master and have managed to unlock their true potentials on their own. For example, that pale man over there. A distant relative to the Master of Light. Watch closely, and you'll see how he's managed to stay hidden all these years."

The man in question disappeared, leaving only his bright red clothes, sunglasses, and cowboy hat behind.

"Still can't believe Father managed to find him," Skylor whispered. "I really thought he was going to give up after tracking down the wrong guy for three months straight. He easily could've replaced him with the Master of Air or someone."

"You excited to use his powers?" Lyra asked. "They seem awesome."

"Honestly, I'm more excited about the fire powers. I haven't used them in so long, but I remember having so much fun that day." Skylor faintly smiled.

"Then there's Griffen Turner," Garmadon continued. "Grandson to the Master of Speed."

Griffen darted around the ninja and up the stairs, a white-and-red blur following him. Lyra's eyes failed to follow where he went. He was too quick.

"Uh, Master of Speed?" Jay asked. "That's not an element."

"So asks the Master of Lightning."

Lyra suppressed a giggle. "I know we're supposed to hate Sensei Garmadon, but he's starting to grow on me."

"Quick, they're coming toward us." Skylor stood up and faced the ocean, dragging Lyra with her. "Pretend to laugh."

They both laughed hard, as if one of them had said something extremely hilarious. 

"And, uh, who's she?" Kai asked, pointing to Skylor.

Lyra and Skylor stopped laughing. They both strained to listen to the conversation, though it was fairly easy to overhear. For self-proclaimed ninja, they weren't very quiet.

"I don't know, Garmadon admitted. "Most of these people I have not seen. But they will all be gunning for you. You are ninja. You serve with honour. Here, that means very little."

"What honour?" Skylor grumbled. "Pretty sure destroying towns for fun has no honour--"

"Behind you," Lyra warned, pointing to a hulking figure stalking toward the two.

The Master of Metal tapped Skylor on the shoulder with his metal glove. "Give me your cloak."

"Excuse me, I was talking to her. It's very rude to interrupt." Lyra crossed her arms and glared up at the bearded man. 

He looked like he was going to punch her. Lyra's mind flashed through all the training she'd done with Skylor. She knew she had to use her speed to her advantage. Karlof was huge, but she was fast. All she had to do was avoid him until he either got too tired or Skylor figured out how to use his element and defeated him for her.

Kai stalked toward them. "Well, maybe honour means something to me."

Lloyd moved to follow him but was stopped by his father, who grabbed his arm and whispered something that Lyra didn't quite catch. He tried to escape Garmadon's hold, but his grip was too strong.

"It's okay," Skylor told Kai. "I can handle myself."

"This none of his business." Karlof, the metal guy, took his hand off Skylor's shoulder and faced Kai. "Karlof cold. Karlof just want her cloak."

"You look like you got big enough mittens. Why not leave the gals alone?" Kai cockily raised his chin and crossed his arms. His brown eyes had a burning fire hidden within them.

Skylor's eyes widened, and she turned away from the scene. Lyra glanced at her, surprised to see a small blush on her face.

No way. Of all people, a ninja? 

The blush quickly faded, though, and Lyra deduced that she'd just been seeing things. Ninja were evil. Skylor knew better than to fall for one of them.

"These. Not. Mittens!" Karlof roared. "These CRUSH ninja!"

Not very smart, is he? 

"Ha, I'd like to see you try," Kai smirked and raised his eyebrows.

I think Kai's dumber, though. 

"Save it for the tournament, Kai." Garmadon, obviously the only intelligent one, said. He was still holding Lloyd back.

Lloyd's gonna be in trouble with his dad later, Lyra thought anxiously. She played with the ends of her skirt. Wait, Lyra, you shouldn't care about that. He's the Green Ninja. He doesn't matter.

She felt her gut twist, as if she were lying, which was insane because she hadn't even said anything out loud, so there was no way she could've been dishonest.

Karlof stepped closer to the red ninja. "Don't think Karlof afraid of you."

"No, you don't think much at all, do you?" Kai asked.

Look who's talking. Lyra refrained from rolling her eyes.

Karlof picked Kai up by the collar. Lyra had to force herself not to attack the Master of Metal right then and there, to her confusion.

He's a ninja. I should be happy he's gonna be beaten up.

"That's gonna bruise," Lyra winced. Then she remembered she was supposed to be befriending the ninja. "Hey, Karlof..." she paused when the man in question glared at her, "stop?"

Skylor gave her an unimpressed look as if to say, great job.

Lyra, meanwhile, had forced herself to take a step back so she wouldn't try to punch the man who could turn into solid metal. 

What the hell is happening? Her conflicting emotions were exact opposites. She was in fight-or-flight mode, but she was fight and flight.

"Just jump in whenever you feel like it!" Kai told his teammates. He was gasping for breath.

 Lyra subconsciously moved closer, fully ready to jump into the fight. Skylor grabbed her arm, eyebrows furrowed in perplexity.

"You say Karlof not smart?"

"Talk in full sentences, please," Lyra blurted out before she could refrain from speaking.

I am an absolute idiot and am about to get killed by this man, she deduced.

Karlof turned to face her with blazing eyes. He raised Kai higher, 100% ready to throw him at her.

"I'd say Karlof is plenty smart not to start something he can't finish." Lloyd, ever the leader, had escaped his father's hold and started to stride toward his friend, the rest of the ninja quickly following.

Karlof punched Kai, and he went flying. Lyra took a step back, clutching her skirt tightly. 

"Oopsy. Guess Karlof not smart."

The ninja went to beat the Master of Metal up, but Garmadon stopped them. "Kai started this, he can finish it."

Preeetty sure Karlof started this by harassing my sister, but I guess ninja don't care about the wellbeing of others, anyway, Lyra thought. Her gut did the weird twisting thing again, even though she hadn't lied.

As Karlof stalked toward Kai, Lyra moved to follow. Skylor swiftly grabbed her hand, dragging her away from the fight Kai and Karlof were having. They were stopped as Lloyd stepped in front of them, blocking their path. Lyra felt the tension in her sister's hand. They both prepared to run from the obvious confrontation.

"Are you two okay? That looked pretty scary. He's built like a mountain." 

Lyra and Skylor looked at each other. They hadn't suspected a situation like this to arrive, and they hadn't expected the ninja to be so good at pretending to be kind. Lyra certainly hadn't expected to feel any form of compassion for the ninja, but here she was, having to force herself to stay away from Kai and Karlof's fight.

They each took a moment to consider their response before Lyra spoke. "Yes, we're okay now, thank you."

Her voice came out quieter than she meant it to, and Lloyd looked like he was straining to hear her. Nevertheless, he smiled at her. "Of course. If he tries to bother you again, just tell us and we'll handle it, okay?"

Lyra gave him a shy smile before walking away, almost forgetting to take Skylor with her. Her head felt fuzzy, as if someone had hidden pieces of cotton in her brain. Her surroundings seemed to blur together, and she shook her head until they were back to normal and the feeling in her chest disappeared. All her worries about Kai were thrown out of a window as she recounted Lloyd's bashful grin.

When they were out of hearing distance, they halted. "What was that?" Skylor raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Skylor put a hand on her hip. "Yes, we're okay now. Thank you," she mimicked in a high, soft voice that admittedly sounded like Lyra. "Please, marry me. I'm absolutely in love with you even though you're evil and--"

Lyra gently shoved her. "It's called acting, Sky. You should try it sometime. We're supposed to be befriending them, remember?"

"Except you blushed and walked away before we could even say anything else!" Skylor threw her hands in the air. "If you were truly focused on the mission, you would've taken the opportunity to charm him!"

"I did not blush! You were the one who blushed while talking to Kai," Lyra accused. "Of all people, Kai! The most self-absorbed of all the ninja!"

"I did not," Skylor denied. "You were the one who tried to butt in on whatever was happening between him and Karlof!"

"You did too." Lyra ignored the second part of her sister's sentence.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did not."

"Did too. Wait--" Skylor sighed. "Why does that always work?"

"Why don't you ever realize what I'm gonna do?" Lyra pursed her lips, trying not to grin. 

"How about this: if I didn't blush because of Kai, you didn't blush because of Lloyd or try to help Kai," Skylor suggested. "Deal?"

"Deal."

They shook hands. 

"Hey, what happened to Kai and Karlof?" Skylor wondered.

They looked over to the left. Kai was on the floor, a bit of blood dripping down his cheek. Karlof was storming away from him, with Clouse watching the metal man leave. Lyra sighed in relief as she observed that, other than the nosebleed, the red ninja appeared to be safe.

 Skylor darted away from Lyra, ignoring her confused cry, and held out a hand to Kai. "I'm sorry if I was cold to you earlier."

Kai took her hand. Lyra smirked as she saw an orange glint run down Kai's arm and into her sister's. Skylor quickly helped him up then turned and walked away in the opposite direction of Lyra.

Lyra followed, easily catching up to her sister. "Oh, Kai, let me help you up. I'm sorry I was cold to you. Do you wanna have my children?" 

"I deserved that, didn't I?" Skylor muttered, cheeks red. "At least I get to use fire again."

"Sure, that's why you held his hand," Lyra teased her, smirking. "To get his powe--"

"We're here," Clouse announced, interrupting their conversation. He flung an arm to the side, showcasing Lyra's home. "Welcome to Chen's island."

Lyra pretended to be in awe of the tall cliffs, looking like they stretched up to space, and greenery surrounding them. To be perfectly honest, she knew the entire island like the back of her hand. She and Skylor played Hide-and-Seek at least twice a week, and there were only so many new hiding places.

"I swore to never return." Garmadon pursed his lips.

Oh, yeah, I forgot he's been here before. When Father tried to turn him to the good side. Obviously, he failed. I think.

Lyra's gut was still squirming unpleasantly. She kind of wanted to yell at it to stop, but that was also insane and would earn her a lot of weird looks.

"You know, you should never swear. It's a sign of weak verbal skills," Jay joked. 

"Wow. So funny." Skylor rolled her brown eyes, whispering to her sister, "These ninja think they're all that."

Lyra half-heartedly nodded her agreement.

Lloyd murmured something Lyra couldn't hear, but his gaze seemed determined. If he was anyone else, Lyra would've thought the expression was cute, especially with his freckles. But he was a ninja, so she didn't think so. At all.

"You ready to destroy these losers?" Skylor nudged Lyra.

"When am I not?"

~*~

The boat came to a stop at the Stonewall Port. Two unnamed, hooded servants put a sturdy plank down, and Clouse stepped onto it. "Welcome to Chen's Island. The Tournament of Elements welcomes its brave fighters." He made eye contact with Garmadon. The disgust in his sneer was obvious. "Master Chen will be pleased to see you've returned, Sensei Garmadon."

"The pleasure is all mine, Clouse." Garmadon raised his chin and walked onto the concrete.

"I'm sure it is." Clouse turned, hands clasped behind his back, and stalked away. 

If I didn't know their backstory, I'd totally ship them, Lyra thought, smirking a bit. They have so much tension, you'd need something even sharper than a knife to cut it. 

Lyra watched his black ponytail bob for a moment before jumping off the boat herself, ignoring the plank. She landed effortlessly and smoothly on the gray concrete and smiled as Skylor appeared next to her.

They watched as the ninja stopped to talk to each other. Other Elemental Masters grumbled as they changed their pace to move around the group.

"Care to explain how the face of Ninjago's most popular noodle house is secretly assembling an underground fighting tournament?" Cole, the brown-skinned, raven-haired Earth Ninja, was saying.

"Master Chen used to be a friend. Now, he's a traitor," Garmadon grumbled. "During the Serpentine Wars, Chen turned against his own kind and sided with the treacherous snakes."

No, you and your brother kicked him out because you were jealous of him! Lyra wanted to scream in his face.

"The battle you and Uncle Wu fought in. He was an enemy?" Lloyd asked.

How does he not know any of this?

"He used deception to divide the Elemental Masters. We barely defeated the Serpentine, and in a deal for his surrender, Chen was to never leave this island."

He had no choice! The Elemental Masters hated him! Any thoughts Lyra had about the ninja not being evil had dissolved into nothing. 

"Little did we know, he'd begin to build his criminal empire from here."

No, you built your criminal empire in Ninjago! Do the ninja not even realize they're evil? Are they that self-absorbed?  Lyra was almost shaking with anger. Her fury reflected on her face, and she recognized that and quickly smoothed her expression into one of vague intrigue as she faked interest in the flowering green bushes nearby.

"He may have divided our ancestors, but he's not gonna divide us," Lloyd claimed.

That's called foreshadowing, Lyra thought. 

She really didn't care that her power was going to be taken away. It was mostly useless, anyway. She could easily paint, draw, dance, perform, sculpt, build, sing, play her flute and trumpet, and write without the help of her element. She'd still have a very long lifespan, as all Elemental Masters were, and that's all she really cared about. She knew Skylor wasn't too happy about her Amber element being stolen, but she understood that it had to be done so their father could save the world. 

Or whatever he was going to use the Staff of Elements for. He'd been really vague about his intentions for it, actually.

Kai looked behind them and, upon seeing Lyra and Skylor, he pushed his team aside, almost knocking Jay down. The Master of Lighting wheeled his arms around, attempting to regain his balance. "Ladies first."

Skylor briskly walked ahead, making sure not to make eye contact. Lyra tried not to laugh at her sister's obvious mortification. 

"Fire will melt her icy heart," Kai muttered.

More like ice will extinguish your fiery heart, very coldly and brutally.

"Do you wanna go ahead with her?" Lloyd addressed Lyra. She looked up in surprise. 

He was staring at her with an unreadable expression, though there was some intrigue. He was probably trying to figure out her Element. Or just who she was, as many of the Elemental Masters were fairly popular. Tox was a semi-famous actor, Griffen was a talk show host, Gravis was a well-known motivational speaker, and Camille was known for her Roller Derby team, the Strikers.

Of course, no one had known about their powers, because most mortals would get intimidated if they realized the almost-immortality they had. Chen had managed to figure out their Elemental Powers by tracing their family trees.

"Oh. Um...uhh..." she hesitated. The logical part of her brain was screaming to catch up to her sister. The other half, the one that had seemingly controlled her earlier, told her to stay with the ninja. "No, thank you."

Lyra moved closer, internally cursing herself. You should really be with Skylor right now. 

They waited by the door, Lyra standing in between Garmadon and Lloyd.

"So...what's your name?" Lloyd asked, turning to Lyra.

The doors were thrown open, saving the girl from having to answer. They all followed Clouse into the courtyard, where servants were playing the drums and chanting.

"So this is the house that Noodles built," Jay remarked. "Ha! Always wanted to go to a red carpet event."

Noodles? Lyra wondered. Is he known by that name, or is that just a weird nickname Jay gave him?

"Chen lives like a king," Garmadon said. "Here, he's totally self-sufficient. The only way on or off this island is with his permission, which you have to earn."

Sadly, that was true. Lyra only ever left the island when she had to go get new supplies, or when it was her shift at any of their restaurants. Otherwise, she and Skylor were stuck on the island with only each other and the Kabuki for company. Not that Lyra minded it. She was close with her sister, and they enjoyed spending time together. It just got boring at times, almost feeling like the same day was happening over and over again.

"You never told me about this place," Lloyd accused. "How do you know so much about this island?"

Doesn't everyone know about us? Lyra questioned. 

"Because before Chen was my enemy, he was my Sensei." Garmadon showed off his purple Anacondrai tattoo, and Lyra took it in with awe. It was half-faded, but, even then, it was elegant.

Even Lyra hadn't been trusted with a tattoo yet, though Skylor had one. Lyra was generally the one who tattooed the symbol on, though. Clouse would always oversee it, muttering a spell Lyra still didn't know the effects of. It always made her head spin after, but he told her that was just her 'weak blood' or whatever.

~*~

"You never told me you had a Sensei," Lloyd muttered to his father.

They were all sitting in a circle on an orange carpet that Lyra had often stained with her paint. Lyra had managed to find Skylor, and they sat next to Lloyd. Lyra was on his right and Skylor was on Lyra's right. Lyra stole glances at the ninja beside her, gazing at his freckles. They reminded her of when she flicked her paintbrush back and splattered paint to create stars. They were perfect, light brown specks, spreading across his nose and cheeks. Lyra was struck again by the thought of how cute she'd think he was if he wasn't evil.

"When I was your age, I sought a darker means of guidance," Garmadon admitted. "He taught me to win at all costs, no matter who I hurt. It wasn't until you saved me that I saw the light."

What's this about "seeing the light?" Lyra wondered. Garmadon is obviously evil. Probably. That's what Father said.

"Uh, apparently, he also never taught you to have a sense of humour." Jay crossed his arms. "Lighten up, we're in an underground fight club! This is supposed to be fun."

Until Father steals your power and takes your little ninja force down. Lyra fought the twisting sense of unease in her gut. Then we'll see how much fun you're having.

A servant hit the gong in the front of the room, and everyone fell silent. Fanfare music that Lyra had recorded a few weeks earlier played from the speakers, and Clouse raised his hands up to the roof. "All rise for Master Chen."

Chen's throne slowly descended from the ceiling. Chen was wearing his fanciest robes, his Serpentine skull hat, and his fake Anacondrai scarf. "Welcome to the Tournament of Elements. Now everyone can all die!"

There were panicked murmurs around the room before he continued. Lyra had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "...direct your attention to me. Hee-hee!"

The gilded double doors slammed shut. Lyra felt the tension in the room fall momentarily, only to rise again when the fighters realized they were locked in. She spotted some of them--the smarter ones--looking for windows and other exits, just in case.

"I forgot to mention he has a penchant for theatrics," Garmadon muttered.

You could say that.

"Hee, hee, hee!" Chen giggled. It was scary. "Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green 'Saviour.'" He pointed at each Elemental Master as he mentioned them. "And a former pupil has returned."

Stupid Gamadon, Lyra thought. Taking the path to darkness instead of light just to spite my father.

Chen faced the gong. "This symbol before you is for the Anacondrai, the fiercest Serpentine warriors to ever roam this land. Its creed: Only One Can Remain."

The gong crashed and split in half. The now-half-circles slid apart to reveal the tournament bracket. Lyra and Skylor had decided where to put which Elemental Master a couple of days prior and placed bets on who would win.

"Good, looks like we're each in our own bracket," Kai murmured. "We won't have to face each other for a while.

Lyra looked at hers, pretending to not know who she was facing. It was Tox, Master of Poison. She'd done her research on the element. All she had to do was stay away from the girl and her gas clouds, and she'd be perfectly fine.

"Behold, a Jade Blade." Chen called all the attention to himself again, holding up a green dagger. 

Lyra had designed the newest look for them ages ago. They were made of rare, polished jade, with shining golden handles engraved with the word Life on one side and Death on the other. There was a ruby in the centre of the hilt.

"Here, it represents life. Obtain it; move on. Allow your opponent to take it; loser! The rules are simple." Chen gesticulated as he spoke. "Every match will be different. No two fights will be the same. Your powers will keep you in the tournament. Use it or lose it!"

"Hmph. What does Karlof win?" The man scratched his stubble with the edge of his glove.

Karlof's not going to even get close to winning, so...nothing. 

"Win, and stay on the island," Chen explained. "Win it all, and receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams, and a lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodles. You all want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!"

Everyone but Skylor, Lyra, and the ninja cheered.

"And what happens if they lose?" Garmadon asked.

"Lose?" Chen pronounced the word as if the concept was foreign to him. "Who here likes to lose?"

The same people who'd just been cheering burst into laughter. Lyra felt like she was in a cult, with everyone having rehearsed reactions and being weirdly in sync.

"Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun happy place. Ha, ha, ha. Fun time on me!"

"You'll now each be shown to your rooms," Clouse said, clapping and calling Kabuki servants.

They walked in, forming a perfectly straight line. Each Kabuki took one Elemental Master.

"Ugh, just what this place needs," Jay complained. "Creepy clowns!"

Lyra frowned at him. The Kabuki were actually extremely nice, though they weren't allowed to speak most of the time. They were the ones who taught her sign language. Plus, their pale makeup wasn't their choice. It was her father's.

Lyra wasn't entirely sure why the Kabuki chose to work for her father. He wasn't the nicest employer. He must've offered them a lot of money or something.

"Not clowns. Kabuki, Chen's jesters," Garmadon explained.

"Yeah, well, whatever they are, I don't like them," Cole said as Noelle, his Kabuki, started to drag him away. "So much for staying together."

Lyra waved to Lloyd as she followed Sakura to her room. Lloyd didn't wave, but he smiled, so she counted that as a win.

Sakura gave her a look, and Lyra shook her head. 

Never in a million years would I be interested in the likes of him. She was disgusted at the very thought of anything romantic happening between them. Not even if my life depended on it. Probably.

So how was that? Was the chapter too long? Too short? The perfect length? PLEASE tell me.

Word count: 5.2k

QOTD: Who's your favourite Ninjago character, excluding the ninja?

A: Skylor or Good Garmadon. There's just smth about them that I love sm

Please do comment and vote because, once again, it helps with motivation and motivation=writing often

Remember to drink water, eat food, and get an appropriate amount of sleep for your age please<3

~Aspen