3. Dark Sides: Tournament of Elements

Chapter 7 - Pier Pressure

It was nearly midnight and the lights from Ninjago City illuminated the pier where the water was crammed full of boats and covered in a thick layer of mist. A chilly breeze ruffled Seliel's hair as she and the girls walked down the wharf where a large group was gathered.

"Those must be the other Elemental Masters," Nya noted. "How many do you think there are?"

"Sixteen," Pixal answered immediately.

"Wow. You really think we can beat all of them?"

"Well, some of them will be pitted against each other throughout the first round," Skylor reassured her. "So no, we won't have to worry about every single one of them."

"That's good –" Nya broke off as something caught her eye. "Uh-oh. Don't look now."

Of course they all looked. Seliel was immediately struck with a bolt of rage and indignation.

"You!" She marched ahead until she came face-to-face with the Ninja of Earth. "What are you doing here?"

Cole raised his hands in surrender. "We got an invitation! We're allowed to participate too, you know."

"Typical." Nya said. "Of course you four would be involved. Did Wu get sick of you, or was this his plan all along? To make money off of underground fighting matches?"

Kai opened his mouth to speak, but Cole signaled for him to keep quiet. "We wanted to test ourselves against other fighters."

"Right, I forgot. We're not good enough for you," Seliel sneered. "You've only said so about a hundred times."

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Skylor cut in, "but the message said no weapons."

"We believe that Master Chen will allow us to use them when he realizes that they are the only way we can wield our elements," Zane answered.

"Good luck with that," Skylor scoffed. Seliel knew she had a point. Chen probably wouldn't want elements he couldn't take. Surely even he wasn't foolish enough to believe he could wield all four golden weapons at once.

"You can't tell us not to fight," Jay said. "This is Master Chen's tournament, not yours."

Seliel would have fought them all right then for a couple of coins, but she restrained herself. "You know what? Fine. But if you go against any of us, it's not going to be like last time. We're winning this thing, and that's a promise."

"Fine," Cole shot back. "Maybe then we'll finally settle this once and for all."

"Oh, sure. Remind me, who was it that ended up flat on their backs during our last fight?"

Kai pointed at her accusingly. "Only because you guys don't fight fair!"

Now it was Nya's turn to scoff in disbelief. "Look who's talking!"

"How could you think –?"

"If you hadn't –"

"You were the ones –"

The wharf quickly erupted into a verbal battlefield as the two teams squabbled back and forth. Seliel barely noticed the other masters clustering around them eagerly, hoping that a fight would break out before the tournament even started.

Cole was practically in her face, now. "Our team against yours. We'll see who's really the better fighter once and for all."

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. We won't rest until every one of you has fallen!"

"Enough!" A voice cut in through all of the bickering and they fell quiet. While their backs were turned a ferry had arrived at the end of the dock, shrouded in mist. A man stood before the crowd. He had dark hair, a rather sinister looking mustache, and wore red and purple armor. His features were hard and serious, etched from stone. "You will all have a chance to fight soon enough. But let's save it for the ring, shall we?"