Enter the Tournament

Chapter 6

The Throne Room

The guys and I had been invited to the throne room for a "Celebratory Feast."
On the way there, they explained to me how their conversation with Neuro went before the Thunderblade, and that Neuro knew what Chen was up to, but was testing us before seeing if he could really trust us.

It wasn't until the end of the Thunderblade that he decided to join our side along with the other competitors.

I hadn't been there, because I'd been trying to figure out if Skylor was on our side or Chen's. There was something about her that I was afraid of, but I couldn't tell what it was. 

What she did at the Thunderblade with Gravis's powers was still confusing me. 

The boys mentioned something about a spell that Chen was working on. Neuro agreed to spy in Chen's room. I wanted to go with him, but the guys argued that it was too dangerous.

And yet, here we were, on a stranger's island, competing to the death. 

This was a game compared to what Chen had already done to us.

The guys and I entered the throne room; a long, semi-circle shaped table was set up in the middle of the room. A bunch of food sat on the table, but no one really wanted to eat. The man was serving eyeballs in a bowl.

Eyeballs...in a bowl.

Jay, Kai, Lloyd and I were talking until a Kabuki started waving her fan in front of Jay's face; he eventually got fed up and whipped his head around to face her.

"Do you mind?!"

The Kabuki lifted her head with a smile.

"Nya!" 

"Lower your voices!" she scolded in a whisper, "I'm undercover." 

She then turned to Jay. 

"I heard what happened to Cole; that was brave of you both." 

Jay sat in a heroic stance, taking Nya's hand and patting it gently.

"Love is like war, Nya." he said, trying to act like he felt bad. 

I rolled my eyes.

"We heard that Chen was working on a spell," Kai informed, "It's supposed to be in his spellbook, on page 149."

"I'll look into it; looks like you guys got your work cut out for you, too!" 

"Why do you say that?"

"Rumor has it that one of your "allies" is a spy!" 

"A spy?!" 

Chen glared at her, and she stuck her fan in her own face, backing away in a dance; Skylor came up to Kai.

"Who was that Kabuki you were talking to?" 

Kai blushed.

"No one! Why?" he asked, smirking and winking at her, "Jealous?"

Skylor handed a red piece of paper to Kai.

"This message came from your friend; be glad it didn't get into the wrong hands." 

Kai took the paper, reading it.

"It's Cole! He found Zane!"

"Just like in Bree's vision!" Jay added, turning to me, "Keep us up-to-date on those, would ya? They're doing us good!" 

"Thank you Skylor," Kai continued, "It's good to know there's still some people we can trust."

She sat in her seat, giving him a smile. 

What a pleasant feast.

* * *

Kai's Room:

"If anything, they're already breaking out of there." I said. We had been alone conversing about Cole and Zane.
I shifted uncomfortably; it was obvious that I was still on-edge with everything going on. 

"I agree," Kai answered, "Cole's not really one to wait much."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah..."

...A heavy silence overtook the room.   

"...What happened to you?" Kai finally piped back up.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you always so quiet all the time? You were always so happy and silly, but ever since we got on that ferry, it's like no one really knows you." he explained. 

"Like...you're not the person we thought you were."

"And, what about you?" I asked.

"What about me? I've been just fine."

"The first two days that we were here, you almost got eliminated twice," I explained, "All you thought about was Skylor; we're not stupid, Kai. We all know she's the only thing on your mind."

"Skyler's not the only one I'm thinking about, Bree," he corrected, "I'm worried about New Ninjago City; if Chen and Clouse drop that spell, we could lose over thousands of innocent people to them."

"That doesn't--it--..." 

I shook my head, glancing down at my feet; Kai gave me a sort of look that was hard to really decipher. Sadness? Guilt? Irritation? 

"You're not just worried about the tournament, are you?" 

I didn't respond.

"Are you worried about me? With Skylor?"

...I sighed.

"Kai, I don't trust her." I answered.

"Is it that you don't trust her," he continued, "or that you're jealous of her?"

"That I don't trust her." 

"..." 

I bit my lip. 

"Do you remember the Thunderblade?" 

"What about it?" 

"She used Gravis's power." 

"Yeah, she can use anyone--" 

"You're not understanding me, Kai," I interrupted, "When was the last time we saw Gravis?" 

"It was in his fight with Griffin," the brunet answered, "Where are you going with this?" 

"Where I'm going with this is that Skylor was--" 

Kai's door suddenly swung open.

"--Let's get this meeting started," Jay spoke; Lloyd and Garmadon as well as the other elemental masters made their way inside the room. 

I gave the hothead one last glance, and then moved away with a shake of my head. 

"Bree--" 

"--Forget it." I interrupted once more. 

I saw Lar come in, and knew this was gonna be a long meeting.

"Question," Jay whispered to me when I caught up with him, "What exactly were you and Kai doing alone in here?" 

"We were coming up with a plan to steal the staff from Chen." I lied.

You know, like a liar. 

"That's not gonna be hard." he responded sarcastically. 

My giggle was a fake as the "plan."