ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Twenty One Pilots - Trapdoor

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◄◄⠀▐▐ ⠀►►⠀⠀ ⠀ 0:00 / 4:37 ⠀ ───○ 🔊⠀ ᴴᴰ ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

Everyone gather around for a show

Watch as this man disappears as we know

Do me a favour and try to ignore

When you watch him fall through a bleeding trapdoor

'Cause nobody knows he's alive

---

The Ferry arrived at an island, with (Y/n) and Remo with the others at the front, hearing the distant beat of drums.

''Look at that,'' Cole said, looking at the gates.

''Awesome,'' Kai commented.

''Let me see,'' Karlof said, pushing Kai.

''Do you mind?'' The Fire Ninja asked, annoyed by the metal man.

Remo could feel the creep's gaze on him, (Y/n) seemed to notice his uneasiness and looked at the man, and she let him slither into her sleeve.

''Welcome to Chen's Island. The Tournament of Elements welcome its brave fighters.'' Clouse said, turning to Garmadon. ''Master Chen will be pleased you've returned, Sensei Garmadon.''

''The pleasure is all mine, Clouse,'' Garmadon replied.

''I'm sure it is.'' The Master of Dark Arts said, turning away.

''Definitely feeling some tension between you two,'' Jay told the sensei. Remo could agree as he watched the others from (Y/n)'s sleeve.

''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?'' Cole questioned.

''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.'' Garmadon answered.

''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.'' His father replied, walking towards the gates.

''He may have divided our ancestors, but he's not gonna divide us.'' The Green Ninja told his father.

Seeing Skylor walking behind them, Kai stopped the others to let Skylor pass. ''Uh...ladies first. Remo noticed her gaze was on (Y/n) for longer before the girl continued walking to the gates. ''Fire will melt her icy heart. Just wait.'' The Fire Ninja said, and Garmadon sighed, and they continued walking.

''This is a big island. Zane could be anywhere. Keep an eye out.'' Cole told the others, as they approached the purple gates.

''So this is the house that noodles built. Ha! Always wanted to go to a red carpet event.'' Jay said as they walked on a carpet that lead them inside, with drummers beating their drums.

''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.'' Garmadon replied.

''You never told me about this place. How do you know so much about this island?'' Lloyd asked his father.

''Because before Chen was my enemy, he was my Sensei.'' His father answered, showing them a tattoo of a purple snake, an Anacondrai.

Remo paled at the sight.

---

They sat in a circle, in a circular room.

''You never told me you had a Sensei,'' Lloyd said, looking at his father.

''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.'' Garmadon replied.

''I thought you saw the light when I disappeared?'' (Y/n) asked in a joking manner, and Lloyd's father looked over at her, an eyebrow raised.

''Uh, apparently he also never taught you to have a sense of humour. Lighten up, we're in an underground fight club. This is supposed to be fun.'' Jay told Garmadon, standing up.

The Lightning Ninja sat down as one of Chen's followers/cultists/noodle-person's banged a gong, drawing their attention. A gramophone played music.

''All rise for Master Chen,'' Clouse said, pointing up to a chair being lowered. The Elemental Masters stood, looking at the noodle dude.

''Welcome to the Tournament of Elements. Now everyone can all di—'' Chen said, and suddenly the door closed, making the Elemental Masters gasp. ''—rect your attention to me!'' He finished, laughing at his little joke.

''I forgot to mention he has a penchant for theatrics,'' Garmadon whispered to his son, following the others in sitting down.

The noodle dude laughed a bit. ''Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior. And a former pupil has returned, as well as the disappeared Master of Illusion.'' Chen said, getting off his chair and walking towards them.

He then pointed to a gong. ''This symbol before you is for the Anacondrai, fiercest Serpentine warrior to ever roam this land. Its creed: "Only one can remain.".'' The noodle man said, making the little snake hide in (Y/n)'s sleeve.

Only one can remain. A line of words he knew well, reminding him that-

''Are you okay?'' (Y/n) asked, interrupting him from his thoughts. He poked his head out of the sleeve and nodded, before retreating into the depths to hide from sight.

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

''Better find Zane before that happens,'' Lloyd replied.

''Behold, a Jadeblade,'' Chen said as Clouse held up the blade. ''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.'' He told the elemental masters.

''Hm, what does Karlof win?'' The Master of Metal 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 noodle. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!'' Chen replied, and everyone except for the ninja cheered.

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

''Lose? Who here likes to lose?'' Chen asked and everyone laughed with the exception of the ninja. ''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,'' Clouse told them, clapping his hands and women with makeup walked out of the door, walking behind the elemental masters.

''Ah, just what this place needs. Creepy clowns.'' Jay replied, looking at them.

''Not clowns. Kabuki, Chen's jesters.'' Lloyd's father told him. The kabuki then grabbed their arms.

''Yeah, well, whatever they are, I don't like them,'' Cole replied.

''So much for staying together,'' Kai said as they were escorted to their suites.

---

(Y/n)'s kabuki escorted her to her room and closed the door behind her as she looked around.

There was a bookshelf filled with books of every genre, and a fluffy light orange carpet covered the floor, with a four-poster queen-sized bed against a wall, with a mini-fridge next to a tv-screen on the opposite wall.

Remo could smell his favourite food and immediately looked for it, his forked tongue flickering as he searched.

(Y/n) smiled, opening the fridge, and the small silver snake's eyes widened at the sight of so many ham sandwiches. He grabbed one, and stroked it, before devouring it.

The girl laughed. ''You must be some sort of mini Great Devourer, there's no way a snake your size could eat that many ham sandwiches.'' (Y/n) said as the little snake continued eating.

Suddenly, Chen's voice was heard over the speakers. ''Fellow fighters, hidden around my island are enough Jadeblades for every participant except for one. The one who returns to the palace arena empty-handed loses. The tournament begins...now!'' The noodle man announced.

(Y/n) left Remo to his own devices, opening the door to see a Jadeblade on the rail in front of her door. She quickly rushed forward, before seeing Paleman grab it, the girl kicked the invisible man, who let go of the blade, which fell over the railing.

The Master of Illusion followed the blade, jumping over the railing, but unfortunately, Gravis swooped in and took the blade.

Gritting her teeth, she made an illusion of a jade blade on top of a hanging light, seeing a real one under a seat. She then saw Cole grab it, and sighed, picking up another one she'd found and followed the Master of Earth.

---

''Only one Jadeblade remaining,'' Chen announced.

The Master of Metal walked towards the others. ''Hahaha! Karlof wins!'' He said, holding up the Jadeblade in his metal gloved fist. The other Elemental Masters cheered while the ninja stood there, surprised looks on their faces. An arm with a red sleeve appeared, holding up a screw, unscrewing the metal fist which made the metal fist holding up the Jadeblade fall off.

''Ah, looks like you got a screw loose,'' Kai said, looking at the Master of Metal before grabbing the Jadeblade from the floor, placing it in the holder.

Everyone except Garmadon cheered, looking at the Master of Fire, who then turned his gaze to Skylor.

''We have a loser!'' Chen announced, and they turned to Karloff, who put his metal fist back on.

''That's not fair. He cheated.'' The Master of Metal claimed.

''I did what I had to do,'' Kai replied, shrugging.

''That is not how you win,'' Garmadon told the Fire Ninja.

''Fine, I lose. Karlof never wanted to be on stinking island.'' Karloff said, accepting his defeat.

''Oh, I'm sorry to hear you did not enjoy your stay. I guess this worked out for the best. This is goodbye!'' Chen replied, pushing a button which made a trapdoor underneath Karloff, who screamed as he fell.

''As you can see, lose and you are out.'' The Noodle Man said, looking at Kai. ''Break any rule, you are out. Never bite the hand that feeds you Master Chen delicious noodle! Now rest up. Tomorrow the tournament will recommence.''

---

Next day, the ninja sat in a booth, talking about the Tournament.

''At least the chow's good,'' Cole said, happy as he ate.

''Argh, it's killing me. What's under the trapdoor? What happens when you lose?'' Jay asked the others.

''Don't think about that,'' Garmadon replied.

''It's all I can think about. I moved on. I feel guilt. These are not good feelings.'' The Lightning Ninja said.

''You think you feel bad? Imagine how I feel. Our mission is simple. Tonight we find Zane and get off this crazy island.'' Kai told him.

''And just how are we supposed to do that?'' The Earth Ninja questioned. ''You heard Chen. Break a rule and we're out. He's not gonna let us roam around.''

''Then it's a good thing we're Ninja. Meet me in my room at midnight.'' The Fire Ninja replied. (Y/n) facepalmed, sighing.

''You mind if I join you?'' Paleman asked.

''Disappear, pal! This is private.'' Jay told him. Paleman became fully invisible, but his tray was still visible, appearing to be hovering. ''I know you're still here. I can see your lunch tray.'' Paleman then became visible and walked off.

''Wow, Jay, you were really mean,'' Cole said, looking at the partly invisible man who was walking away before turning his gaze to the Lightning Ninja.

''How am I supposed to know if we can trust him?'' The Lightning Ninja asked. ''See what this island is doing to me? It's corrupting me! It has to stop. I'll see you tonight.''

---

After Jay had been pulled up onto the Fire Ninja's balcony, (Y/n) hopped down, landing on the rail and scaring the two.

''Whoa-ho-ho-ho. Nice digs.'' Jay complimented Kai, walking into his room.

''I know. His room is so much nicer than mine. Look, chocolate-covered shell peas. I love these.'' Cole replied, grabbing a few and taking the whole bowl, jumping onto Kai's bed. ''Oh, and look how soft your pillows are. Man, mine are made of rock. What a crock.''

''Okay, it was almost impossible to get here. This place is swarming with guards. Any ideas on how we search the island?'' Jay asked the others.

''We travel by shadow.'' The Fire Ninja answered. ''Cover every square inch of this place until we find him.''

Cole laid on the bed, throwing a chocolate-covered shell pea into his mouth, suddenly, the bed flipped over. (Y/n) looked at the spot where he once was, confused.

''The island's big. We'll need to split up.'' Jay said, not noticing what had happened.

''No, we stick together,'' Lloyd replied.

The bed flipped over again, with Cole still on it. ''Uh, guys, this bed is, uh...''

''Cole, I get it! You like my bed. Would you stop playing around?'' Kai asked the Earth Ninja, turning around.

''I think I know how we can search the island,'' Cole answered.

The Ninja laid on the bed, with (Y/n) in the middle, blushing as she looked up at the ceiling.

''Okay, I feel ridiculous.'' The Green Ninja said.

''Ah, you're right. The pillows are soft.'' Jay said, closing his eyes.

''Is this a joke?'' Lloyd asked, looking at Kai.

''I must've done something to trigger it. I was laying here, then I stretched—'' Cole replied before the bed flipped over.

The ninja held onto the sheets as they looked down. ''Whoa! Secret passageway! Cool.'' Jay said as they let go, dropping onto the stone floor.

Kai lit his hand up with his fire, lighting the passageway. ''Nice work, Cole. Maybe Zane's not on the island but in it.'' The Fire Ninja said before they heard grunting.

''Quiet. Do you hear that?'' Lloyd asked the others, and (Y/n) nodded in response.

The Lightning Ninja saw light coming through two holes in the wall. ''Oh, secret peepholes. Haha! Super cool. Sounds like someone's fighting on the other side of this wall.'' Jay said, climbing up to look through them.

''What do you see? Who's fighting?'' Cole asked, looking up at him.

''It's not a fight. It's Skylor's room. And it looks like she's training.'' Jay answered.

Kai extinguished his fire. ''Let me see, let me see!'' He said, climbing up to the peepholes.

''Ah, looks like Kai's got the hots for her,'' Cole said, looking at Lloyd and (Y/n).

''No, she's competition. I just wanna know what powers we're up against.'' The Hotheaded Porcupine replied, before trying to push aside Jay to look through.

''Ugh, wait your turn,'' Jay told him.

''We can at least share,'' Kai replied.

''Guys, this is an invasion of privacy,'' Lloyd said while Kai watched Skylor do pushups.

''It's not nice to spy on a girl.'' (Y/n) added, sighing.

''Ugh, her room doesn't reveal anything about her power,'' Kai replied, before Skylor's fist caught aflame, making Jay gasp.

''What was it? What did you see?'' Cole asked.

''She's...Fire...'' Kai answered, looking at Jay.

''Wait a minute, if we're all descendants of Elemental Masters...'' Lloyd started, making (Y/n) snort.

The Earth Ninja laughed. ''Kai's heart is on fire. Kai's heart is on fire. Kai's heart is on fire.'' Cole sang teasingly while dancing.

''Can we please just keep moving? It's like a maze down here. Good thing you're leaving a trail back to our room.'' Kai said to Cole, who was still eating his chocolate shell peas.

''I'm what?'' The Earth Ninja asked, confused. He then looked behind him and saw the trail of chocolate shell peas. ''Oh, yeah, heh. I meant to do that.''

The ninja went further, before coming to a stone passageway. Lloyd saw (Y/n) stop and the others stopped too, seeing a tripwire. ''Booby traps.'' He said, bending down to move the wire a bit.

''Haha! Booby traps. Even cooler. Haha.'' Jay laughed before Lloyd turned to him and stared at him. ''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.'' The Green Ninja told the others.

Kai heard chanting echoing through the stone passageway. ''Do you hear that? Everyone be quiet.'' The Fire Ninja said, and they hid behind a rock, watching as four of Chen's Cultists walked past, unaware of their presence.

Then another four went past, and the boys grabbed them, punched them in the face and putting on their clothes while (Y/n) brought out her leaf to change her appearance.

Standing in front of Clouse, who watched as the Cultists bowed their heads, chanting.

''Stop licking your tattoos.'' The Fire Ninja told the Earth Ninja, who couldn't stop licking the chocolate tattoos on his face.

''It's chocolate. I can't resist.'' Cole replied.

''Shh! Just try to fit in.'' Lloyd told them, and they chanted along with Chen's Cultists. Chen himself the noodle man appeared, with a staff topped with a crystal glowing with stolen power. His staff clanked on the stone floor, making his cultists immediately bow, with the ninja quickly following after.

''Bring out the loser.'' The noodle man commanded, and the Master of Metal appeared, held by two of Chen's followers.

''Unh! Get hands off Karlof! Karlof wish he never sign up for this. What's chanting for?'' Karloff asked as he looked up at Chen.

''Uh, they're saying "only one can remain." Like I said, use it or lose it.'' Chen answered, and tilted his staff forward. What looked to be ice streamed out, surrounding Karloff before his once metal skin became normal, and grey coloured light was sucked into the crystal in the staff.

Karloff keeled over, his face filled with shock. ''He's stolen Karlof's power,'' Kai told the others.

''And he used Ice. That means he must have already stolen Zane's power too.'' Cole replied.

(Y/n) gritted her teeth, and attempted to go over to the noodle man, but the boys grabbed her arms and held her back. She remembered the promise she had made when she had passed the statue and wasn't going to forget it.

''Just... let... me!'' (Y/n) whispered through clenched teeth, before Cole shoved a chocolate shell pea into her mouth, making her stop.

''What happened to my Metal?'' Karloff asked.

''Your Metal? Oh, it's mine now.'' Chen replied, laughing. ''But now I will let you go.''

''Really?'' The Master of Metal questioned.

''To the factory!'' Chen exclaimed.

''No, no! Let Karlof go! No, no!''

''Jay, your face...'' Lloyd said, looking over at Jay whose chocolate face paint was melting.

The Lightning Ninja gasped, and his hands flew up to his face.''My face? All of our faces! The chocolate's melting.''

''Who are they?'' Asked a cultist.

''Intruders! Stop them! They must not escape!'' Chen shouted as the ninja ran out of the room, Chen's Cultist's yelling as they gave chase.

As they ran away, past the tied up cultists, Cole tripped on the tripwire.

''A-ha! Yes!'' Kai exclaimed as he saw a door block the cultist's way. More traps were triggered as Cole got up, a giant axe falling behind right behind them and more appeared as they ran.

(Y/n) almost got hit by an axe but luckily Jay saved her, pulling her out of the way.

''That was close,'' Cole said in relief. They then heard growling.

''That sound,'' Jay said before they looked down to see a giant purple snake below them, rattling its tail.

''That has got to be the second biggest snake I have ever seen!'' The Fire Ninja commented, and the snake leapt up to attack, being ninja they climbed up the shaft and the snake snapped at their heels. Kai accidentally pressed a button, making them fall into the Fire Ninja's room, and onto his bed. ''Are we...'' He said, sitting up.

''Yeah, barely,'' Lloyd answered.

''Did we just—ow!'' Cole said.

''No more sneaking around. From now on, let's just follow the rules.'' Jay told the others, getting up.

(Y/n got up and helped Lloyd to his feet.

''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.'' Kai replied.

''No crap Sherlock.'' (Y/n) replied, crossing her arms.

''But why? What is he planning?'' The Green Ninja asked.

''I don't know, but if we're gonna find out and find Zane, we have to play by his rules. Agreed?'' The Fire Ninja asked the others.

''Agreed.'' The boys answered, nodding their heads in unison.

''Good thing we weren't spotted. That was close.'' Cole said.

''Yeah, too close,'' Jay replied, showing a hole in his pants the snake tore off.

(Y/n) blinked, looking at it. ''Uh, are you sure you didn't leave anything behind as evidence?''

'Yeah, he's going to get caught.' Morro spoke.

Sorry for the delay :P

School & stuff I guess.

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Have a great day or night, wherever you are.

See ya, Bookworms. <3

WriterAgreste, over & out!