I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Lloyd, and the others, believe Nova is dead. Because they couldn't find her anywhere after the big fight against the Overlord.
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*Chen's ferry arrives at an island.*
"Looks like this is where everything begins, now that I think about it. Would my bad luck actually affect Chen's noodle factory, should I lose and end up there?" Nova thought to herself, a small smirk started spreading behind her mask.
"Maybe I should try and lose just to see if anything happens, and if nothing, then that's just a shame." Nova started having thoughts about how she could mess with Chen, whatever she lost or not.
"Look at that." said Cole, pointing towards the island.
"Awesome." said Kai, amazed.
"Let me see." Karlof pushes Kai and Nova, who hadn't noticed that the ninja was right next to her.
"Do you mind?" said Kai, annoyed by that.
"What the fuck, dude." [robotic] said Nova, glaring at him.
"Welcome to Chen's Island. The Tournament of Elements welcomes its brave fighters. Master Chen will be pleased you've returned, Sensei Garmadon." said Clouse.
"The pleasure is all mine, Clouse." said Garmadon.
"I'm sure it is." said Clouse, walking away from them.
"Definitely feeling some tension between you two." said Jay.
"Yeah, and how is it we're on an island I've never seen on any map?" Kai asked.
"And care to explain how the face to Ninjago's most popular noodle house is secretly assembling an underground fighting tournament?!" said Cole.
"Master Chen used to be a friend. Now he's a traitor. During the Serpentine Wars, Chen turned against his own kind and sided with the treacherous snakes." said Garmadon.
"The battle you and Uncle Wu fought together in? He was an enemy?" Lloyd asked.
"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. Little did we know, he'd begin to build his criminal empire from here." Garmadon explained.
"He may have divided our ancestors, but he's not gonna divide us." said Lloyd.
"Gonna have to agree with greenie on that one." [robotic] Nova whispered to herself, but it seemed the ninja heard her as they all turned to her with skeptical looks.
Nova got a little nervous as she turned her head to try and avoid more attention, though sadly that didn't happen.
"Wait! I remember that mask now, you are that infamous thief Delta, who has been stealing from the Borg Industries these past few weeks!?" shouted Lloyd, now annoyed as he walked towards her.
"Who me? Steal nooo never, you must have confused me with someone else." [robotic] said Nova, putting her hands on her hips as she couldn't back away now, though that didn't mean she wasn't scared.
"Don't try and play dumb with me asshole, do you know how many times I've been trying to catch you for weeks!" said Lloyd, standing right in front of her and having to look down since he was taller than her.
"Language." said Garmadon.
"English!" [robotic] shouted Nova and Lloyd in unison.
"Would you stop that! It doesn't help!" said Lloyd, glaring at Nova.
"I never said it would greenie, now, as fun as this reunion is.....I would really like it if we didn't cause a scene right here with so many people." [robotic] said Nova, crossing her arms, getting nervous and because she didn't like seeing him being like this towards her.
"Delta is right Lloyd, causing a scene here, would be a bad idea." said Garmadon coming over while giving Nova a skeptic glance.
Lloyd let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine, but after we return from this island, I'm taking you to prison." he pointed at Nova.
"Well, you can try, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna make it easy." [robotic] said Nova, walking away from them while ignoring the look on Garmadon's face.
Kai sees Skylor walking behind him. "Uh...ladies first!" He pushes the ninja aside. "Fire will melt her icy heart. Just wait."
*Garmadon sighs at this.*
Nova was shaking her head, while she was also a girl, she had to keep her identity a secret. Since the law was after her, it wouldn't be good if they knew what gender she was.
"This is a big island. Zane could be anywhere. Keep an eye out." said Cole.
"So this is the house that noodles built. Ha! Always wanted to go to a Red Carpet event." said Jay.
"Chen lives like a king. Here, he's totally self-sufficient. The only way on or off this island is with his permission, which you have to earn." said Garmadon.
"You never told me about this place. How do you know so much about this island?" Lloyd asked.
"Because before Chen was my enemy, he was my Sensei." Garmadon shows them his Anacondrai tattoo.
*The Elemental Masters arrives inside the palace and sat in a circle.*
"You never told me you had a Sensei." said Lloyd.
"When I was your age, I sought a darker means of guidance. He taught me to win at all cost, no matter who I hurt. It wasn't until you saved me that I saw the light." said Garmadon.
"Uh, apparently he also never taught you to have a sense of humor. Lighten up, we're in an underground fight club. This is supposed to be fun." said Jay.
"Why did I have to sit next to these guys.....as much as I like seeing them again. Doesn't mean I wanna be this close to them, and why did Lloyd have to be the one sitting next to me." Nova thought, getting uncomfortable sitting with them.
*Zugu bangs a gong and Eyezor turns on a gramophone.*
"All rise for Master Chen." said Clouse.
"Welcome to the Tournament of Elements! Now everyone can all di-" The door suddenly closes and everyone gasps. "-rect your attention to me." He laughs.
Garmadon whispered to Lloyd. "I forgot to mention, he has a penchant for theatrics."
"Argh! I forgot how annoying his laugh was, it's almost as bad as Lloyd's evil laugh." [robotic] Nova mumbled as she facepalmed herself.
Lloyd gave her a skeptic look. "How do you know about that, and do you actually know Chen?" he whispered.
"Fuck, I forgot Lloyd was sitting next to me, and worst of all. He just heard what I said." Nova thought, getting a little nervous as she tried not to make any eye contact with him. [robotic] "I have my ways, as for Chen, nope I don't know him at all.....I just heard his laughter once from somewhere."
Chen kept laughing. "Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior, a former pupil has returned, and even an infamous thief, the Master of Darkness." He points to the gong. "This symbol before you is for the Anacondrai, fiercest Serpentine warrior to ever roam this land. Its creed: "Only one can remain."
The ninja quickly turned to look over at Nova when they heard what her powers were, making her actually a little scared as she slowly moved further away from them. Since knowing them, they probably already caught on who she was now, at least for the most part.
*The gong moves aside, showing a bracket.*
"Good, looks like we're each in our own bracket. We won't have to face each other for a while." said Kai.
"Better find Zane before that happens." said Lloyd.
"Behold, a Jadeblade. Here, it represents life. Obtain it, move on. Allow your opponent to take it, loser. The rules are simple. 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!" Chen explained.
Nova let out a small yawn. "He is talking so fucking damn much."
"Hm, what does Karlof win?" Karlof asked.
"Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams, and lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodles. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!" Everyone but the ninja and Nova cheer.
"And what happens if they lose?" Garmadon asked.
"Lose?! Who here likes to lose?" Everyone but the ninja and Nova laugh. "Now, please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun, happy place. Hahaha. Fun time on me."
"You'll now each be shown to your rooms." said Clouse.
*Kabuki walk up to each one of the Masters.*
"Ah, just what this place needs. Creepy clowns!" said Jay.
"Not clowns. Kabuki, Chen's jesters." [robotic] said Nova and Garmadon in unison, causing him and the ninja to look over at her with a skeptic glare.
Nova got a little nervous and backed away, only for a Kabuki to come and take her arm, leading her to the room she would be staying in.
*Nova enter her room.*
Nova took a look around her room. That was all purple with a bit of black, that had her favorite candy along with a big TV and a pc, where she could play some video games, there also was a bookshelf with a few books and comic books on it.
"Huh, they really thought of everything." [robotic] Nova mumbled, before noticing her new gi on her purple bed. She walked over and decided to check it for any tracking devices on it, since being a thief meant that she had to be careful, and check for anything that could track her or even cameras.
Nova tapped something on her mask, causing the view on her mask to change, so she could better see if there was anything hiding from the blind eye, and it didn't take long until she found a tracker inside her shoes. [robotic] "Nice try, but I'm not the infamous thief for nothing."
Nova easily removed the tracking device before putting on her new gi, she did have to remove the tech decoy from under her old boots, and added them to her new shoes, and then went on to grab some bandages. And began wrapping them around her hands and arms to better hide her oni parts.
When she was done, she let out a small sigh before walking out on her balcony, and quickly found out that hers was right next to Lloyd's room. Since she saw him walk out, and they quickly made eye contact, though Nova still had her mask on.
"So you're the Master of Darkness, then that would mean that you are the Overlord's sha--" said Lloyd, but was quickly cut off.
"Don't you dare mention that motherfucker's name, I want nothing to do with him!" [robotic] Nova growled angrily at him.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes at her. "How can I know you are telling the truth? For all I know you could just be lying, which you are very good at, and my friends already told me about that shadow being they were fighting back at the dark island."
Nova slammed a fist into the railing, giving him a cold glare. "I fucking tried to help those idiots! And yet, they were the ones who went against me! I didn't even fight them at all! What they did was attacking someone who wasn't fighting back!" [robotic] She shouted angrily at him.
"...But then again, what should I expect from the so called green ninja, I wondered if you would be different and not look at everything as black and white.....I guess I was right about staying away from you ninja...." [robotic] said Nova in a sad tone, since behind her mask tears were running down her face.
"Wait, Delta I–" Lloyd started feeling guilty and wanted to apologize but got cut off.
Chen could be heard on an intercom. "Fellow fighters, hidden around my island are enough Jadeblades" Garmadon starts climbing his way back, since he had been kicked out by Clouse. "for every participant except for one. The one who returns to the palace arena empty-handed loses. The tournament begins...now!"
"...Good luck finding your friend." [robotic] said Nova walking back into her room, not staying to see Lloyd's surprised reaction and just began searching her room, before finding a jadeblade behind some of the books on her bookshelf.
Just as she went to grab the blade, she was stopped by the shadows, as Shade walked over and took the blade. "I'll be taking that." He said, and went on to use the shadows to get away.
Nova growled behind her mask in rage. "Shadows huh, well two can play that game." [robotic] She went on to use the shadows too, and began searching for Shade, until she found him by a balcony heading down.
Nova jumped out of the shadows while using them to knock the jadeblade out of Shade's hand, she then went on to use her double jump ability and easily grabbed the blade.
"You might be the Master of Shadows, but I'm the Master of Darkness. So wherever you go, I will follow." [robotic] Nova said with a smirk behind her mask, before getting down on a lower balcony and quickly heading out of whoever this person's room was.
Nova used her speed boost to run down the stairs, not taking any chances as she ran past some of the other masters that were fighting to get their own jadeblade.
She noticed Clouse using his magic on Lloyd, and she let out an annoyed sigh. Rolling her eyes until she noticed Garmadon coming up behind him.
"I might be upset with Lloyd, but that doesn't mean I can't help a little." She thought, running towards them.
"Wha-Hey!" said Lloyd, not able to move.
*Garmadon, having climbed back inside, tackles Clouse.*
"Hurry, Lloyd. You must not lose." said Garmadon as Lloyd went to grab the Jadeblade, but Clouse quickly used what magic he could to move it further away.
"No, the jadeblade!" shouted Lloyd quickly running after it before seeing Nova run up to him.
"Here, take mine, I'll get the other one myself." [robotic] said Nova, giving him the jadeblade she had.
Lloyd looked at her a little surprised. "T-thanks Delta."
While he couldn't actually see it, he kind of got the feeling she was smiling behind the mask by how her eyes were showing it.
"You better not lose that, or I'll put it on your debt." [robotic] Nova said in a teasing manner before using her speed boost again, leaving him behind as she went and grabbed the dropped jadeblade just before Ash could.
"This is mine, smoky!" [robotic] Nova said in a taunting manner, running away and into the arena and over to the throne, jumping up and putting in the jadeblade.
"Two Jadeblades remaining." said Clouse, who had arrived there at some point.
Nova went on to lean against a wall in the shadows and pressed something on her mask, as some parts began to cover her ears and began playing some music that she could listen to, while waiting for this to be over.
"Wait! I got one!" said Cole.
"Cole! Whoo-hoo! You made it." said Jay.
"Where's Kai?" Cole asked.
"Only one Jadeblade remaining." Kai and Karlof duels for the last Blade. Chen speaks over an intercom. "Get on with it!"
*Karlof walks in with the Jadeblade.*
"Hahaha! Karlof wins!" Everyone except the ninja and Nova cheer. Kai sneaks up behind him and unscrews his metal hands. "What?"
"Ah, looks like you got a screw loose." Kai steals it and puts it in the holder. Everyone except Garmadon cheers.
"We have a loser!" said Chen.
Karlof puts his hand back. "That's not fair. He cheated."
"I did what I had to do." said Kai.
"That is not how you win." said Garmadon.
"Fine, I lose. Karlof never wanted to be on stinking island." said Karlof.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear you did not enjoy your stay. I guess this worked out for the best. This is goodbye!" Chen pushes a button, activating a trapdoor under Karlof. He screams as he falls. "As you can see, lose and you are out. Break any rule, you are out. Never bite the hand that feeds you Master Chen's delicious noodles! Now rest up. Tomorrow the tournament will recommence."
Nova let out a small sigh, shaking her head behind turning off the music she was listening to, and had the parts that covered her ears to go away.
*Later that day, the ninja sit in a booth.*
"At least the chow's good." said Cole.
"Arrgh, it's killing me. What's under the trapdoor? What happens when you lose?" said Jay.
"Don't think about that." said Garmadon.
"It's all I can think about. I moved on. I feel guilt. These are not good feelings." said Jay.
"You think you feel bad? Imaging how I feel. Our mission is simple. Tonight, we find Zane and get off this crazy island." said Kai.
"And just how are we supposed to do that? You heard Chen. Break a rule and we're out. He's not gonna let us roam around." said Cole.
"Then it's a good thing we're ninja. Meet me in my room at midnight." said Kai.
"Hey Delta, you can come and join us if you want." said Lloyd waving over to Nova, who was standing around looking nervously for a place to sit, until she heard someone call out to her.
"Lloyd, what are you doing, have you forgotten this is the master of darkness. You know the Overlord's shadow." said Kai glaring towards Nova.
"Yeah and don't forget they are also a thief, we can't trust them." said Jay.
"Guys, if Delta didn't give me their blade, I wouldn't have made it through this round. Also, they know about us being here looking for Zane." said Lloyd.
The ninja glares over at Nova, who was slowly getting more nervous on what to do. They looked back at each other before letting out a sigh.
Lloyd smiled, looking back at Nova, waving her over to their table.
Nova gave a small nod, walking over and took a seat beside Lloyd, while putting her tray on the table. She went on to press something on her mask, causing the lower part of her mask to go away so she could eat.
"Oh my god! They got crazy fangs!" shouted Jay pointing towards Nova's mouth.
Nova quickly covered her mouth as she looked away, clearly upset about the comment, while slowly eating her food.
"Jay you can't say something like that out loud to someone, that's rude." said Lloyd, looking annoyed at him.
"Sorry, but the last time we actually saw them. They were just a creepy looking shadow, with the only visible part being their glowy eyes." said Jay.
"I'm surprised the Overlord's shadow actually has a real form." said Kai.
Nova slammed her fist on the table, glaring at him.
"What? got something to say shadow." said Kai glaring at her.
"Kai, please stop, they clearly don't want anything to do with being the Overlord's shadow." said Lloyd, trying to stop them from getting into a fight.
Nova turned the lower part of her mask back on and glared at the ninja.
"I'm sick and tired of being seen as the Overlord's shadow! You fucking think I asked for this! Even when I tried to help you guys back on the dark island, you were the ones to go on and attack me first!" [robotic] Nova growled at them.
"Well, we couldn't have known if we could really trust you! Hell, for all we knew you were the one who killed our friend Nova!" said Kai slammed his fists into the table while glaring at her.
Nova's eyes widened at the mention of her name in shock, which the others could clearly see on the screen of her mask.
"Enough! Fighting with those that could be a possible ally, isn't gonna help you." said Garmadon finally putting an end to this fight.
Lloyd looked over at Nova with a sorry expression. "Sorry about that, Delta, I didn't mean for this to happen." He put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her.
Nova sighs, looking over at him. [robotic] "I know greenie...and I'm sorry about your friend....but I swear I never touched her, the blame is all on the Overlord."
"You mind if I join you?" asked Mr. Pale, who had come over to the table.
"Disappear, pal! This is private." Mr. Pale uses his light. Jay sighs. "I know you're still here. I can see your lunch tray."
"Wow, Jay, you were really mean." said Cole as Mr. Pale walked away.
"How am I supposed to know if we can trust him, let alone Delta here? See what this island is doing to me? It's corrupting me! It has to stop. I'll see you tonight." said Jay.
*At midnight in Nova's room.*
Nova sighed heavily while laying in her bed reading some comics about Starfarer while listening to music from her mask, singing to herself in a low soft voice as her voice changer was turned off at the moment.
"Come on, I'm sure if we keep following this way, we should get somewhere." Someone whispered.
"Sssh! You guys hear that? sounds like someone's singing, though it sounds a little familiar." whispered another person.
"Guys come and take a look here, there are two small holes here that we can use to see through." Someone else whispered.
"You guys aren't gonna believe this, it's Delta's room and I see them laying on their bed reading.....a comic?" One of them whispered.
"Wait, really? Let me see." A fourth person whispered as they pushed someone away.
Nova kept reading and singing to herself, stopped the moment the scanners on her mask went off, detecting someone was close.
Nova quickly turned her voice changer back on, while closing her comic and slowly getting up. She walked around in her room until she came over to a small picture of a dragon on the wall, and glared it straight in the eyes.
"Wow really, spying? That's what it's come to, you guys?" [robotic] Nova asked, crossing her arms, but when she didn't get an answer she let out a heavy sigh.
"Okay, how about we make a deal, you guys never spy on me again, and I'll act like this never happened." [robotic] She said, still waiting, but when she still didn't get an answer she sighed and went on to use the shadows to move behind the wall where the ninja was.
"Damn, you guys are annoying, don't you know anything about privacy?" [robotic] Nova said, standing behind them, causing them all to turn around and get in a fighting position.
Lloyd was the first to take the lead as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that, Delta, we didn't mean to. But we heard singing and got curious, so we decided to follow it until we got over here."
"You should have seen his reaction when he heard that it was coming for you, it was a surprise to hear what seemed to be your real voice." said Cole.
"Yeah, your voice sounded much like a girl." said Jay.
"It also sounded a little familiar." said Kai, getting a little skeptical.
Nova started to panic a little about that, but tried to act like it wasn't anything. [robotic] ".....It's whatever, now can you guys explain what you are actually doing here in the walls, besides spying?"
The ninja looked at each other wondering if they should really tell her anything, but Lloyd was wondering something else, since he thought she acted a little like Nova. But he couldn't be completely sure.
"Argh! fine since you probably already know in some weird way, we are trying to find our friend Zane, and when we do, we are leaving this crazy island." said Kai crossing his arms.
"Hey wait! Delta, here is the master of darkness, so shouldn't they be able to use the darkness to find Zane, without getting noticed, and don't forget they are a thief that has never been caught." said Jay.
"Huh, for once, you actually had a good idea, motor-mouth." [robotic] said Nova and Cole in unison.
"Okay, can you please stop that! It's really getting creepy!" said Jay.
Nova just shrugged. "I can't control it." [robotic] She said with a small sigh. "But no, I will not use my powers to do your work for you, I mean, what would I get out of it?" [robotic] She crossed her arms.
"Why not? it's the right thing to do." said Lloyd, looking at her.
"For fuck's sake, I don't wanna mess around with the story of this season, but these guys aren't making it any easy." Nova thought with a heavy sigh.
"Okay, listen here you idiots, I'm not gonna use my powers to help you with finding and getting your friend out of here. For one, I don't know my way around the place, and two, I've never used my powers to travel through the shadows with a person, and I don't wanna risk something going wrong in trying that." [robotic] Nova explained.
"But since I'm already mixed into this with you guys, I guess I can help a little." [robotic] She went on to add.
Lloyd simply just smiled at her, causing her to blush a little behind her mask. "Thanks Delta, a little help is more than enough along with a hopeful ally."
"Okay, but can we get going now, we've already wasted a lot of time just standing here and talking." [robotic] Nova said.
"They are right, let's go." said Kai and everyone started walking through the tunnels.
It wasn't long until Jay saw light coming from two holes. "Oh, secret peep holes number two. Haha! Super cool. Sounds like someone's fighting on the other side of this wall."
"What do you see? Who's fighting?" Cole asked.
"It's not a fight. It's Skylor's room. And it looks like she's training." said Jay.
Kai extinguishes the fire. "Let me see, let me see!"
"Ah, looks like Kai's got the hots for her." said Cole.
"No, she's competition. I just wanna know what powers we're up against." Kai tries to use the peep holes.
"Ugh, wait your turn." said Jay.
"We can at least share." said Kai.
"Guys, this is an invasion of privacy." [robotic] said Nova and Lloyd in unison before looking at each other with a raised eyebrow.
"Ugh, her room doesn't reveal anything about her power." Skylor uses fire, causing Jay gasps in shock.
"What was it? What did you see?" Cole asked.
"She's...Fire..." said Kai, shocked.
"Wait a minute, if we're all descendants of Elemental Masters...well, besides for Delta here." said Lloyd.
Cole laughs and starts singing. "Kai's heart is on fire. Kai's heart is on fire. Kai's heart is on fire."
Nova couldn't help but let out a small laugh, seeing this.
"Can we please just keep moving? It's like a maze down here. Good thing you're leaving a trail back to our room." said Kai.
"I'm what?" Cole looks behind him and sees his chocolate shell peas. "Oh, yeah, heh. I meant to do that."
"So, Delta, how about you tell us a bit about yourself. I saw you reading some Starfarer comics which actually surprised me, I didn't take you for a Starfarer fan." said Lloyd walking beside her.
"Huh, so you were spying on me, and you call yourself the leader of your team. Shame on you greenie, shame on you." [robotic] said Nova, shaking her head.
"Well, I mean I–we didn't mean to..." Lloyd tried explaining as he started blushing a little.
Nova giggled a little. "I'm just messing with your greenie, relax I've already gotten over you guys spying on me...for now." [robotic] She said, smiling behind her mask.
"But to answer your question, yes I am a fan of Starfarer even though I'm still very new to reading those comics." [robotic] Nova said.
"Alright then, so when you aren't out stealing, what do you do in your free time?" Lloyd asked.
"Hmmm my free time, well, besides reading comics and books, I like listening to music or simply sitting outside on top of a roof and just enjoying the view I get, or I would sit in my room and play some video games." [robotic] Nova told him.
"You sound much more laid back, than I thought you would be. The only thing I don't understand is why being a thief and stealing stuff." said Lloyd.
Nova rubbed the back of her neck, getting a little shy, as she had missed talking with him and being able to do that again. Actually made her a lot more happy than she thought she would, but she wasn't sure why.
".....Well, I'm still kind of new to this world after I was brought back here that day, and I'm pretty sure people would freak out by my appearance, along with hardly knowing much of this world. So I just went on to stealing stuff, which quickly became a habit for me now." [robotic] Nova explained.
"Is that why you are wearing that mask and have bandages wrapped around your arms and hands?" Lloyd asked.
Nova gave a small nod. "That and because I don't like my appearance either.....I--" [robotic] She was cut off mid sentence.
They walk down farther until Lloyd sees a tripwire. "Everyone stop! Booby traps."
"Haha! Booby traps. Even cooler. Haha." Lloyd stares at Jay. "Or, I mean, kinda cool. I mean, they're totally not cool, you know, 'cause they're dangerous."
"From here on out, we have to watch our step." said Lloyd.
Kai starts hearing chanting. "Do you hear that? Everyone be quiet."
The ninja and Nova hide behind a rock. They each fight an Anacondrai Cultist and take their outfits, besides Nova, who decided to stay back and hide in the shadows. While the ninja follow them to Chen's ceremony.
"Stop licking your tattoos." said Kai.
"It's chocolate. I can't resist." said Cole.
"Shh! Just try to fit in." whispered Lloyd as they chanted with the warriors.
"Bring out the loser." said Chen.
"Unh! Get hands off, Karlof! Karlof wish he never sign up for this. What's chanting for?" said Karlof.
"Uh, they're saying, "only one can remain." Like I said, use it or lose it." Chen uses his staff to steal his metal.
"He's stolen Karlof's power." said Kai.
"And he used ice. That means he must have already stolen Zane's power too." said Cole.
"What happened to my Metal?" Karlof asked.
"Your Metal? Oh, it's mine now." Chen laughs. "But now I will let you go."
"Really?" said Karlof.
"To the factory!" said Chen.
"No, no! Let Karlof go! No, no!" said Karlof.
"Jay, your face..." said Jay.
Jay gasps. "My face? All of our faces! The chocolate's melting."
"Who are they?" asked a warrior.
"Intruders! Stop them! They must not escape!" shouted Chen.
*Nova was watching from the shadows until she saw the ninja, and began running away with them, Cole trips on the tripwire, closing the door on the warriors.*
"A-ha! Yes!" Another traps activates. "Oh, no!" They run away.
"That was close." They hear growling.
Nova felt a chill running down her back, as she still had a bit of a fear for big snakes since the Great Devourer.
"That sound." They see a serpent below them.
"RUN!!" [robotic] shouted Nova, almost breaking her voice changer with how loud she shouted.
"That has got to be the second biggest snake I have ever seen!" They climb up and re-enters Kai's room, falling on his bed. "Are we..."
"Yeah, barely." said Lloyd.
"Did we just-ow"
"No more sneaking around. From now on, let's just follow the rules." said Jay.
"Unh! We may not have found Zane, but we found something just as important. This tournament isn't about glory. It's about Chen stealing all of our Elemental Powers." said Kai.
"But why? What is he planning?" questioned Lloyd.
"I don't know, but if we're gonna find out and find Zane, we have to play by his rules. Agreed?" said Kai.
"Agreed." said everyone but Nova, who hadn't said anything since they got away.
"Good thing we weren't spotted. That was close." said Cole.
"Yeah, too close." Jay shows them a piece of his disguise the snake tore off.
"Hey Delta, are you okay?" Lloyd asked when he had noticed how quiet she had been, since they got back to Kai's room.
Nova was breathing heavily while holding her small plushie close to herself, the ninja could see the shocked look in her animated eyes on the screen of her mask.
"....I think they are having a panic attack." said Cole, a little worried.
Nova slowly moved a hand up to her mask and pressed something, before slowly calming down to listening to some music, but it only helped a little.
"But what could have caused the Overlord's shadow to have a panic attack, I didn't think that was possible." said Kai not sure what to do.
"I think it was the snake, I mean did you guys hear how loud they shouted when they saw it." said Jay as he had caught on to that when they were on the run.
Lloyd walked over to her and sat down next to her before carefully pulling her into a hug, thinking this might help since that's what he did with Nova, when they were kids and right after the Great Devourer ate their ship.
Nova's breathing slowly went back to normal as she wrapped her arms around him, and hid her face against his shoulder. "....T-t-thanks...again, Lloyd." [robotic] She whispered for only Lloyd to hear.
Lloyd had a soft smile on his face. "It's no problem, Del." He said.
"Del?" [robotic] said Nova, confused, she turned to look up at him and, for once, actually happy she was wearing a mask. Because she was blushing like crazy how close her face was to his.
"Well yeah, I'm not the best with nicknames, but that's the best I could come up with." said Lloyd smiling at her, which didn't help her blush growing deeper.
"....Well, I guess....it's not that bad." [robotic] Nova said while staring deeply at him as she finally took in his features, but was quickly snapped out of it when she heard the ninja behind them.
Nova cleared her throat as she let go of Lloyd, and got out of the hug. Putting away her plushie in a secret pocket she had been able to make.
"Well, this has been lovely and all, but I'm gonna head back to my room." [robotic] Nova said and began walking towards the shadows. "And we're just gonna act like this never happened" [robotic] She quickly added.
She didn't wait for a reply as she used the shadows to get back to her room and lay down on her bed, with a heavy sigh, her thoughts went straight back to Lloyd, causing her to blush again. "Fuck, I think I have a crush on him...fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."