Nalia is all good. :3
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*At the palace, an Anacondrai Cultist is serving the Elemental Masters food.*
"Next!" shouted an Anacondrai Cultist.
"Morning!" said Nalia with a cheerful smile.
The Anacondrai Cultist scoffs but gives her some food and biscuits.
"Next!" It's Garmadon's turn, but Krait doesn't give anything. "Nu-uh! Nothing for you."
"There's a valuable lesson here, son. If you turn your back on your first evil Sensei in an effort to go straight..." said Garmadon.
"Next!" shouted The Anacondrai Cultist.
"...You may not be served creamy biscuits," said Garmadon.
"Well, I know what we are being served—a whole bunch of baloney. This isn't a fighting tournament. It's an alibi for Chen to steal everyone's powers. But we still don't know why," said Lloyd while glancing over at Nalia. He noticed her being extra cheerful today, as if she hadn't lost her temper last night.
"I'm not so sure. From what Sensei G's told us about him, I have a feeling it's something far more sinister," said Cole.
"And may I remind us, we still don't know where Zane is, so we all need to take care of our first rounds to give us more time. Don't look at me. I've already moved on." said Jay.
"Your opponent got himself kicked out," said Cole.
"Same with mine, for some reason," said Nalia with a small sigh as she shook her head.
"Hehe, either way, it's my and Nalia's day off." Jay turns to the Cultist. "Extra creamy biscuits. And don't skimp." They start walking away from the line.
"Oh, so that's why you aren't wearing your gi," said Nalia, who had gone on to wear hers. Just because she was lazy didn't mean she would walk around in pajamas.
"Taking a day off? And here I thought ninja never quit," said Cole.
"And I used to think a ninja wouldn't steal your girlfriend," said Jay.
"Wait, what?" Nalia looked over at them, very confused. "What else did I miss while I was gone?"
"Whatever you have to say to each other, say it now because harboring grudges hurts no one but yourselves," said Garmadon.
"He's right. It would help if you were preparing to fight your next opponent, not each other," said Lloyd.
"What grudge? I already dropped it," said Cole.
"I dropped it first," said Jay.
"Did not!" shouted Cole.
"Did too!" shouted Jay back.
"Guys, please stop arguing," said Nalia, looking at them a little sad.
Jay and Cole looked at each other and then at Nalia before letting out a sigh. "Fine, we'll stop."
A small smile grew on Nalia's face. "Thank you."
As they walk away, Jay drops his biscuits and drink.
"The tournament will test them, Lloyd. Either find a way to make peace, or neither will move on. Not even Nalia can keep them from fighting for that long." said Garmadon.
Chen on an intercom. "The tournament of Elements continues. Fun time! Would the following Masters please make their way to their assigned arena? Speed, Gravity, Smoke, Nature, Mind, oh, and last and hopefully not least..."
"Huh, maybe we all got the day off," said Jay.
"...Fire!" Kai gasps. "Remember, only one can remain." The fighters are in their arenas. "Turner, Master of Speed, versus Gravis, Master of Gravity. Fight!" The two make their way toward the Jadeblade. Neuro and Bolobo begin their match. "Neuro, Master of Mind, versus Bolobo, Master of Nature. Fight." Neuro uses his Mind on his opponent.
"They call this a fight?" Lloyd asked, sitting beside his father, while Nalia sat on his other side.
"Wait for it," said Garmadon as Neuro managed to dodge Bolobo's vines. Kai and Ash's fight begins.
"I don't like this one bit," Nalia mumbled as she watched.
"Kai, Master of Fire, versus Ash, Master of Smoke. Fight!" The two dropped the Jadeblade on a rock under them.
"Come on, Kai, you can do it," said Lloyd.
Nalia was beginning to feel another headache coming as she started rubbing her temple. "Stupid headaches, between this and being sick. I'll take being sick over this."
*The Masters watch Neuro and Bolobo's fight.*
"Never underestimate the power of the mind," said Garmadon.
Nalia let out a sigh as she rested her head on Lloyd's shoulder. She wanted the headaches to leave, and she was getting tired of watching the masters fight.
"Lia? You okay?" Lloyd asked while trying not to blush.
"Yeah, just bored from watching this, and I don't like seeing them fight. Knowing what happens to those that lose," said Nalia, closing her eyes.
Neuro gets trapped in Bolobo's vines. "I didn't see that coming!"
"In Man vs. Nature, Nature usually wins," said Lloyd, returning his attention to the fighting while slowly wrapping an arm around Nalia.
Garmadon glanced from the corner of his eyes, a slight smirk growing on his face at his son, but didn't say anything.
"What? Can't keep up? I'm over here. Can't catch me." Gravis levitates some of the flowers from the tree. "This doesn't look good," said Griffin.
"Ninja, go!" Kai uses his Spinjitzu.
"Come on, Kai. Use your power," said Lloyd.
"Fire!" shouted Kai as he used his powers.
*Neuro uses his Mind to give Bolobo a headache, freeing him and using another vine to climb the rock and grab the Jadeblade.*
"Yeah!" cheered Neuro.
"Winner! Loser!" Bolobo screams as he falls under a trapdoor. "Master of Mind moves on," said Chen.
*Gravis levitates the Jadeblade, but Griffin grabs it.*
"Yeah!" cheered Griffin.
"Winner! Loser!" Chen opens a trapdoor and drops a sandbag on Gravis, who is still floating in midair.
"Whoa. How many buttons does that man have?" Griffin asked.
"Master of Speed moves on." Clouse is about to use his Dark Magic on Kai and Ash's battle when Chen stops him.
"No Magic. I'm enjoying this." Kai breaks the bridge with his Fire. After a brief fight, Kai grabs the Jadeblade. "Winner! Loser! Master of Fire moves on."
Nalia let out a breath. She didn't know she was holding it when she heard Kai won, but she still felt terrible for those who had lost. "This isn't fair at all, not for anyone." She slowly opened her eyes while resting her head on Lloyd's shoulder. "My headache is gone now, which is a relief."
*Later, the ninja and Nalia approach the Elemental Masters, who are gathered around the bracket.*
"What's all the commotion?" Jay asked
They gasp when they see Cole and Jay on the same bracket.
"No, he can't do this." said Cole in disbelief.
"He already did." said Lloyd.
Nalia looked at the bracket, and started scowling a bit. But took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "This is so unfair."
"We gotta fight each other." said Cole glancing over at Jay.
"But why does it say I have to fight Cole? It didn't say that before. I'm not ready to fight. It was supposed to be my day off! How come Lia, is the only one getting out of any fighting!" Jay started complaining.
"Probably because she is a popular singer, so she gets special treatments." Kai suggested.
"I don't want special treatments, that just makes everything even more unfair." said Nalia crossing her arms.
"I tried to warn you, but you never listen! Talk? Yes. Listen? Not so much." said Cole glancing at Jay.
"Is there a problem, ninja?" asked Clouse as he was walking over.
"You cheated! You changed the brackets." said Cole.
"Oopsie." Clouse laughs and walks away.
"What do we do? They can't fight each other. We came here to become whole, not fall further apart." said Lloyd, looking at his father.
"You can't undo what's been done. My only advice is to be at peace with it." said Garmadon.
"Peace? One of us has to lose! Oh, my gosh. It's totally gonna be me. He's got super strength, and what do I have? Quick, tell me! What do I have!?" shouted Jay as he grabbed Nalia's shoulders and started shaking her.
"JJJJaaayyy." said Nalia as she was getting shaken.
"Don't listen to my dad. We find Zane, then none of us have to battle. Your fight isn't until tonight, so we still have time to figure out what Chen's up to and stop this." said Lloyd as he had Jay let go of Nalia, so he would stop shaking her.
Nalia gave a soft smile, happy that Lloyd would have Jay stop shaking her. She grabbed one of his hands while she kept smiling.
Lloyd tried not to blush by this and focus more on their situation right now.
"I think I know just the person who can help. And I think he already knows." said Kai.
"Who would already know?" Nalia asked, tilting her head, confused.
"I'll tell you all later, we can't risk others listening in." said Kai, glancing around them.
Nalia raised an eyebrow, looking around them too. "But no one else is here, besides just us."
The ninjas let out a sigh at this, she might have gotten a little smarter, but there was still stuff that she didn't understand or know that well.
"His talking about Neuro, the elemental master of the mind." Lloyd whispered to her.
"Oooh!" said Nalia finally getting part of the plan Kai might have. "That would make sense that this person would already know."
The four ninjas facepalmed at this, while Lloyd just shook his head, but at least she was in a somewhat better mood. Which made everyone feel slightly relieved.
*At night, the ninja went to see Neuro.*
"We need your help, Neuro." said Lloyd as they approached him.
"You think I can get close to Chen to read his mind, so you can find your robotic friend and not have to fight." said Neuro.
"Don't forget—" said Kai before being cut off.
"You still need to know what Chen's up to because he's hiding something." said Neuro.
"Wow, he's good." Nalia whispered to Lloyd.
"That's really impressive, Nerdo." said Jay.
"It's Neuro, Master of the Mind. And Cole thinks Jay won't last long in a fight." said Neuro.
"Pfft. You think that?" Jay asked, turning to Cole.
"You just said it yourself." said Cole.
"But you didn't have to believe it." said Jay.
"Don't be offended, Cole. Jay here thinks you're the least valuable ninja." said Neuro.
" You don't say." said Cole and they started pushing each other.
"Neuro, please stop. I don't like seeing them fighting." said Nalia, getting concerned.
"Sorry miss Starlight, but that just how it is in this tournament." said Neuro as he was turning to look at her. "You have a lot of strange thoughts going through your head, and a very confusing mindset on Lloyd."
Nalia's face gave a sweet smile, with her face slightly blushing. "Please stay out of my head."
Neuro started getting slightly nervous with the thoughts going through Nalia's mind right now.
"We wanted you to help, Neuro, not make things worse." said Lloyd while trying not to glance over at Nalia, and ask what he had seen in her mind.
"But why would I help? You're competition. The sooner you're out, the better for me." said Neuro, while taking a small step away from Nalia.
"If you want what's best for you, just look into my head, and you'll see what this tournament is all about." Neuro does, and sees Lloyd's memory of Chen stealing Karlof's Metal. "It's only a matter of time before Chen steals your power too. So, are you in?"
*Later, with the audience.*
Nalia had gone on to join the audience, sitting on a bench with Garmadon as they waited for the battle to start.
"I really hope they can find something to stop Chen, I don't like any of this." said Nalia, slightly pulling at her scarf.
"I understand your concern Nalia, but all we can do right now is wait and see." said Garmadon glancing over at Chen and Clouse.
"I know, but just sitting and doing nothing frustrates me so much." Nalia pouted a little at this. "And seeing people get their powers taken away by force, just doesn't sit right with me. But I don't know why it's annoying me so much."
Just then, Lloyd, Kai and Neuro arrived and took their seats as the battle was about to start.
"You tried your best, the rest is up to them." said Garmadon as Lloyd sat down beside him and Nalia.
"I hope they can see that too." said Lloyd.
Nalia let out a heavy sigh, and took out her diary, trying to focus on something else but the battle as she started writing down some new songs.
"You not gonna watch, Lia?" Lloyd asked, and tried sneaking a look at what she was writing.
"Just knowing they have to fight each other is already bad enough, but seeing them fight is too much." said Nalia as she started shoving Lloyd away. "And stop trying to look at what I'm writing."
"Sorry, can't help but being curious." said Lloyd with a small smile. "But we'll figure something out, and stop Chen and Clouse before it can get any worse."
Nalia looked up from her diary and over at him with a worried face. "And if we can't?"
"Then we try a different strategy." Lloyd gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "So don't lose that smile of yours, out of all of us. You never quit and will always be there for us when we really need it."
Nalia began feeling her face slowly getting warmer as she was turning slightly red. "Alright!" She said with a bright smile. "Why are my face all warm, please don't tell me I'm getting sick again."
Garmadon just chuckled at this, watching those two having each other's back.
"Let the tournament continue! Jay, Master of Lightning, versus Cole, Master of—" Chen announced before getting cut off by the two already started fighting.
"Haha! That's all you've got? Least valuable ninja!" Jay taunted.
"Eat dirt, Blue-Belle!" shouted Cole as they fought.
"Oh, Clouse, go get me popcorn. This is turning out better than I anticipated." said Chen with excitement.
Nalia glared over at Chen, holding in a growl as Lloyd grabbed her hand, trying to have her calm down.
Nalia pouted slightly and rested her head on his shoulder, searching for some comfort and focus on something else.
Jay and Cole continue their fight.
"Stronger than you thought, eh? That's your betrayal flowing through my veins." said Jay firing his lightning at him.
"I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet when you're out of the tournament." Cole overpowers Jay with Earth. "What are we doing? I don't want you out. You're not my enemy, Chen is."
"Oh, sure, lower my guard by pretending to be my friend, then swoop in to steal the prize. Typical Cole maneuver." said Jay.
"I never meant to hurt you, Jay. If I knew it would destroy our friendship, I'd take it all back." said Cole as he dodged an attack from Jay.
"Well, if we're being honest, I was upset about losing Nya, but I take blame for that. I was more upset about losing you. We used to be good friends." said Jay.
"The best! Right? We should've been honest with each other instead of bottling this up." said Cole.
"Agreed. But how are we supposed to stop fighting? We can't both win." said Jay.
"Well, maybe we can draw it out till they call it a tie. Quick, attack me. But not hard." said Cole as they fight without their Elemental Powers.
"Ah, what is this? Pattycake? I'm bored. Release the Condrai Crushers!" shouted Chen.
"I got your back." said Cole as they stood back to back.
"And I've got yours." said Jay.
"Ninja, go!" They both began fighting together against the Condrai Crushers.
"Go, Jay! Go, Cole!" Nalia cheered.
"Ah, they fight together. Good work, son." said Garmadon proud of him.
"Yeah, I do listen to you every once in a while." said Lloyd, glancing at his father.
Jay and Cole work together to defeat the Condrai Crushers.
"Enough! I know what you are trying to do. If neither of you will win, then both of you will lose!" Chen activates the trap doors.
"We can't both lose. Chen's right, there can only be one." said Cole turning to Jay.
"And it should be you. You and I both know I'm lucky to have even made it this far. You take the Jadeblade." said Jay, letting Cole take it.
Cole takes the Blade but throws it to Jay.
"Winner! Loser! Master of Lightning moves on." Chen announced.
"She's yours, Jay. I should've bowed out long ago. Win this thing." said Cole with a confidence smile.
Chen drops Cole in a trapdoor. "About time. Phew."
"Cole may be gone, but he did not lose. Let what he did here today be a lesson for us all: know thine enemy, but more importantly, know thy friend. He fought like a true ninja." said Garmadon.
Nalia could feel her anger growing, but had to force it down and let out a sigh. "I hate all of this, none of this is fair at all." She slightly pulled at her scarf, trying to hide her face. "I just want our friends back, and end this with as little fighting as possible."
Garmadon and Lloyd looked over at her, understand how she felt. But knew that wouldn't be that easy.
Lloyd took one of her hands in his and gently squeezed it, trying to give her some comfort.
Nalia returned the gesture, but didn't say anything else.