The Ninjago Tournament of Elements!

Chapter 7

It's time for the dragon battle race!

Contestants remaining (11): Kai - Fire, Jay - Lightning, Lloyd Garmadon - Energy, Skylor - Amber, Tox - Poison, Neuro - Mind, Ash - Smoke, Camille - Form, Shade - Shadow, Riptide- water, Twilight- wind

Losers (7): Griffin Turner-speed, Paleman-light, Karloff-metal, Cole- Earth, Bolobo-Nature, Gravis-Gravity, Jacob-Sound

Neuro's account

Neuro fled through the forest, his breath coming hard and fast. He knew he couldn't stop, or they would catch him, take the Apocalypse Stone, and destroy his world. His only chance would be to keep running and hiding, desperately hoping that he could reach Silverwhisp in time and warn his Queen. The Queen would know what to do. She always did. After all, she had her own ninja team, and three elements, including the famous Silverwhispian mind-reading, to fight with. She could protect the Stone, prepare the army, and get ready to defeat Chassis, Galactic and their minions once and for all. Neuro's weary eyes glimpsed the distant glow of portal up ahead. Could he make it that far? Putting on a new burst of speed, he raced towards the soft purple shine. Suddenly, something caught on his ankle. He tripped and fell, wondering what had tripped him. He froze, thinking of a possibility. He warily raised his eyes, cautious of what he might see. The triumphant, despicable face of Chassis grinned back at him, Galactic in the distance, laughing, his yellow-skinned, purple-tattooed friend right beside him. Wait, Neuro thought, he seems...familiar, almost, like I know him. He shook off the thought. That wasn't important right now. He had to escape Chassis, but how? Galactic's friend laughed nastily. "I have an idea of what to do with him. He'd be perfect for a competition I have in mind!" Galactic gazed at his friend for a long while with those emotionless, soulless eyes of his. "Very well," he acknowledged after a while. "Chassis?" Chassis, who had been greedily examining the Apocalypse Stone, blinked. "Huh? What? You want him for some competition? Sure, go ahead." Galactic chuckled evilly and raised his pitch-black eyes to Neuro's, and the next thing he knew, he was falling...falling...

Neuro woke up, panting heavily. The dream. It had haunted him almost every night since he'd been invited to the tournament, growing more vivid and detailed every time. Was it real? It certainly had seemed and had felt too real to be a dream. As the dream began to fade from his mind, Chen called them to the hall. Neuro hurriedly ate some breakfast, then dashed down the stairs to whatever fate awaited him. Chen was just beginning to speak when he arrived. "...and you'll each race your dragons to the finish line. No rules. Attack your opponents as much as you want! That's just part of the fun! Sabotage is allowed, as well!" "But that's not fair!" Lloyd called. "Life is not fair!" Chen retorted, giggling hysterically. Neuro rolled his eyes at Chen's 'joke'. Clouse noticed, and gave him the stink eye. Neuro scowled at him. He had never been a big fan of Clouse. "Go to the stables! You'll find the racing dragons we stole- I mean, bought- waiting for you!" Everyone rushed off in a stampede, trying to get the best dragon for themselves. Twilight found a lavender dragon with a moon on its tail and star-like spots along its wings for herself. Neuro felt strangely protective of the dragon, like he'd seen it before and had known it was important. Kai had a red, flame-patterned dragon, Jay's was blue with lightning, Lloyd's was bright green, Riptide's was dark blue with waves patterned out on its scales. Again, Neuro felt the deja vu, but not as strongly. His dragon was gray, Shadow's was black, Skylor's was an amber color, and Ash's dragon was a lighter gray. Neuro noticed that all the dragons were saddled and ready to race. A racetrack stretched out into the sky ahead of them. Without warning, Chen suddenly yelled, "GO!" Competitors leaped into their saddles and furiously tried to get out on the track. Neuro noticed a side door and vaulted into the saddle, zipping out quickly and quietly. He easily gained a head start, and was easily winning third. Twilight and Riptide had almost a magic connection with their dragons, as if they'd known them all their life. Jay was fourth, his dragon moving as fast as- Neuro couldn't resist- lightning. Ash was in fifth, using clouds of smoke to block his opponents view of the track. In sixth, Kai was striving hard to beat Ash. "I'll get you, cheating smoke boy!" He called. "In your dreams, hothead!" Ash bantered back, laughing. Seventh was Skylor, who was grimly grinning like she had a secret advantage. Hmm... Neuro knew he'd have to watch her. She was gaining speed quickly. Eighth was Tox, too busy sending clouds off poison at everyone else to worry about losing. Shadow and Camille fought for ninth, and Lloyd, who was obviously airsick, brought up the rear in eleventh. Suddenly, with a yell, Ash and his dragon dropped to the ground. Shadow was next, and Camille swooped down to make sure he was okay. Neuro watched them nervously, wondering who'd be next. Suddenly, he noticed Skylor concentrating. Was her power gravity, like Gravis'? Either way, he could be next. Blocking out the noise around him, he telepathically sent a wave of distracting thoughts into her head. Skylor's eyes shot open, and she glanced around, wondering who had stopped her. Suddenly, she seemed to be bombarded with something worse, because a second later she shrieked and dropped to the ground. Neuro turned around from looking at Skylor, and immediately noticed the finish line! He crossed it third, after Twilight and Riptide. The Masters who had fallen took to the skies again, but Ash won last place. "Loser!" Chen exclaimed gleefully, opening a trapdoor that sucked Ash into it. "The next challenge is in an hour, so get ready for the 'Opposites' Trial!"

Author's Note:
How exciting! What could the flashback possibly mean? Who is the Queen? And wait, portals? Could there be more to this book than we ever had anticipated? Well, we'll find out soon! ;) See you next time for Camille's account!