by Kate Howard
“Hang on a sec.” Kai studied the symbol closer. “I think I’ve seen this before.”
“You have?” the others asked.
Kai nodded. “Yeah, actually, in my room. I thought it was just some sort of decoration. But there was definitely a drawing that looked like this hanging on the wall near my bed.”
“Do you think they’re connected?” Lloyd asked. “There was a symbol by the river, and that’s where we found the snakeskin. And now a symbol here. If there’s one in your bedroom, Kai, then maybe …”
Jay groaned. “Then maybe we should have all just planned to meet in Kai’s room at midnight like he originally said!”
Suddenly, there was a snap, then a thud behind the ninja! Jay and Cole whipped around just in time to see Sensei Garmadon being swept off his feet by one of Chen’s garden traps!
“Dad!” cried Lloyd.
“I’m okay!” Garmadon insisted. But the sensei was stuck upside down inside a large, clawlike trap. It looked like a giant metal Venus flytrap had snapped closed around his body.
“Jay, I think now is probably a better time to ask Sensei how it’s hanging,” said Kai.
“You stole my joke,” muttered Jay.
“Quit kidding around,” said Lloyd. “We need to figure out how we’re going to get my dad down.”
“Chen probably has his traps hooked up to sensors of some kind,” added Cole. “His guards might be on their way right now. We have to free Sensei and move on as fast as we can.”
Garmadon shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. Leave now, before you’re caught.”
Lloyd shook his head vehemently. “No way! We’re not leaving without you. We’re sticking together as a team. No more splitting up!”
Kai and Jay studied the giant metal claw. The sensei was held in tightly, and it would take a lot of strength to twist the metal and to free him.
“If Zane were here, he could probably freeze the claw and shatter it,” mused Jay.
Cole flexed his arms. “Well, we don’t have ice, so time to use our muscles.”
The ninja all set to work tugging and pulling at each of the metal arms wrapped around Garmadon. When it was clear they were making no progress working alone, Kai said, “Maybe if we all pull on the same metal arm-thingy, we can get it to budge?”
Jay shrugged. “Can’t hurt to try.”
The four ninja all clasped their hands around one of the metal arms holding Garmadon prisoner. It took a lot of grunting, and even more muscle power, but eventually, the metal began to twist.
As they tugged more, Kai asked, “Do you think Chen sets these traps here to catch people wandering around his garden … or to catch animals?”
“Maybe he’s trying to catch the giant snake who left his skin back at the river,” Cole suggested, grunting.
Jay nodded. “Maybe giant snake is the secret ingredient in Chen’s noodles.”
“Let’s not think about that,” said Lloyd. “We have to eat here through the rest of the tournament.”
The bar bent a few inches farther. But before the opening was wide enough to pull Garmadon out of his trap, voices echoed near the edge of the garden.
“Someone’s coming,” Garmadon hissed urgently. “You must go.”
“We’re not leaving you!” the ninja insisted.
The voices drew nearer. Soon, the ninja could make out what they were saying:
“Chen’s instructions are to deliver the trespassers directly to him.”
Kai and Lloyd shared a worried glance. They just had to pull a little bit more, and then the metal arm would be loose enough for the sensei to squeeze through.
“I’m going to use Spinjitzu,” said Lloyd, his face set. “I can get this trap opened in no time.”
“No, Lloyd, don’t,” Cole urged. “If you use your powers, they’ll spot it. That would be the end of our search for Zane.”
Lloyd gritted his teeth and tugged harder.
“On the count of three, we give it one more good pull,” said Cole. “One, two —” With one final tug from the four of them, the metal bent and scraped, and a moment later the sensei was free. He spun in the air and dropped to the ground lightly. Then the ninja and Garmadon shot out of the garden like a flash.
As they ran, Cole huffed, “Is anyone ever gonna wait for three again? Or do we just go on two now?”
They ran and ran, until their lungs burned and they were sure they’d put plenty of distance between themselves and Chen’s thugs.
“Clearly, we need to be more careful,” said Kai. “We’re no closer to finding Zane, but we keep getting a lot closer to getting ourselves kicked off the island. We can’t afford any more mistakes.”
“We must focus,” said Garmadon. “Let’s think about what we’ve learned.”
“Here’s what we’ve learned,” said Jay. “Lloyd keeps finding weird symbols, vines are super-stretchy in this place, cliffs are not our friends but birds are, and we need to check our noodles for chunks of snake. Is that a good recap of the day?”
Kai shook his head. “We also discovered the symbols connecting back to my room. Maybe we’ve been going about this all wrong. Maybe we don’t need to be searching outside the fortress for Zane. Maybe we need to be searching inside it.”
Lloyd gasped. “You’re right! Chen’s fortress is massive, but we’ve only seen a small section of it. What if Zane’s somewhere in there, right under our noses?”
Suddenly, the ninja heard a loud Caw! Caw! above them. They looked up and spotted the black bird from before. It circled once, its shadow blocking the sunlight over them. Then it flew off.
“It’s getting late,” Kai realized. “If we don’t get back soon, they’re sure to spot that we’re missing.”
“So does that mean we’re going back to the fortress?” asked Cole. “Time to sneak back in?”
“I don’t think we have much choice,” said Jay.
As they hurried back toward the fortress, Cole was strangely quiet. “We had a couple of close scrapes there,” he finally said. “We sure could have used Zane’s help today.”
“I know,” said Lloyd. “I never realized how much we relied on one another until we lost Zane.”
“I think it’s safe to say that finding Zane would be a lot easier if Zane were here to help,” agreed Jay.
“Very interesting,” murmured Garmadon. “Though you did not find your friend yet, you have found something almost as important. The value of your team.”
The others nodded. Jay said, “Cheesy as it is, Sensei’s right. Now I want to find Zane even more than I did when we first got here. We have to find him tonight.”
Soon, the friends could see the fortress stretching high into the sky up ahead. The walls were just as solid as they had been earlier in the day, but this time, the front gates were wide open. The entire area near the gates was filled with Chen’s guards. In the courtyard, Kabuki performers were dancing and miming near the palace steps, trying to entertain everyone. Elsewhere around the courtyard, other competitors prepared for their next battles.
Griffen Turner, who had superspeed, was punching at the air so fast his hands looked like a blur. The Pale Man, who could turn himself invisible, was winding in and out of the crowd. Kai watched him for a minute, then said, “That guy’s power sure would come in handy right about now.”
Lloyd stopped short and said, “That’s one thing we didn’t think about … How are we going to get back in without anyone noticing we were gone in the first place?”
“There are a lot of people in there,” said Cole, stating the obvious.
Kai nodded. “A lot of people who would love to see us get kicked out of the competition.”
Jay’s face broke into a smile. “I think I have an idea — follow me.”
This is so embarrassing,” Kai said a few minutes later.
“You look good,” giggled Jay. “We all do. Especially Sensei. Clown suits suit you.”
Garmadon frowned. “This had better work.”
The ninja had snuck around the outside of the fortress wall and found the room that held the Kabuki performers’ costumes. Now, all five of them were dressed in the colorful outfits. They had also found makeup to paint their faces, so they were totally masked as they slowly made their way toward the front gates.
“Act silly,” ordered Jay, nudging the others. “The Kabuki are like Chen’s jesters, remember — we need to make sure we’re playing the part right.”
“This is the worst part of this whole day,” growled Kai. Though he was angry, his face looked cheerful because of his painted-on smile.
“I much prefer my ninja gi,” agreed Cole.
“Let’s just get this over with,” said Lloyd, and he walked right up to the front gates.
None of the guards seemed to notice them. They danced and mimed around the courtyard, trying to act like they fit in. Several of the other Kabuki performers gave them strange looks, but before long, they’d made it most of the way across the courtyard without anyone saying anything to them at all.
Suddenly, Chen and Clouse stepped out of the front doors. Everyone in the courtyard froze when they saw them. The ninja all held their breath — surely, Chen would notice that something was strange about his newest Kabuki performers! Chen strolled across the courtyard, looking very much like a king in his castle.
The ninja backed away from him, but Chen and Clouse just kept coming closer.
“You!” Chen barked, looking right at Garmadon. “Make me laugh!”
Garmadon paused a moment too long. Chen narrowed his eyes, and Clouse stepped closer to the sensei.
“This is bad …” Jay muttered. He tried to think of a backup plan, but nothing was coming to mind.
Just as Chen stepped forward, putting him a foot away from Garmadon, the sensei began to dance. He was almost completely unrecognizable in his Kabuki outfit with a face full of makeup. And his dancing …
“He’s not bad!” Cole whispered to Kai.
Kai smiled. “Not bad at all.”
Garmadon’s feet flopped back and forth in a silly little dance, and he waved his arms like he’d seen the other Kabuki doing earlier. Chen’s eyes narrowed further.
“He’s not falling for it,” groaned Lloyd.
Then, Chen began to laugh. “Tee-hee-hee!” He cried, “Wonderful!” Then he walked on, Clouse trailing at his heels.
As soon as Chen had passed them, the ninja hurried toward the front steps. They ran inside and dashed through the hallways to the guest rooms. They all dodged into Lloyd’s room, because it was the closest. Inside, they cast off their Kabuki outfits and breathed heavy sighs of relief.
“We made it back without getting caught,” said Kai.
“We did,” said Lloyd, looking up at a picture on his wall. Lloyd’s room had a framed painting of all five ninja — back when they were still a team, and before Zane was gone.
“We’ll find him,” said Jay. “Remember, we’re meeting tonight.”
“See you at midnight?” asked Kai. “My room?”
Garmadon nodded. “Yes. You four meet, and I shall keep a lookout for Chen and Clouse to make sure you are not discovered,” he said. “Seeing you work as a team today gave me great hope that you will find Zane. Good luck tonight, ninja. Let the spirit of your brother Zane give you the strength to search on.”
The others nodded back. Then they quietly headed to their own chambers. They had to rest up — they still had a lot of searching left to do.
At midnight, the three ninja made their way up to Kai’s room. Guards were everywhere around the compound — both inside and out — so they had to sneak into Kai’s room using the balconies outside each window. Lloyd and Cole both easily swung from balcony to balcony, slipping into Kai’s room quietly under the shadow of night. But just as Jay grabbed on to the bottom of Kai’s railing, the woman staying in the room next to Kai’s stepped onto her balcony!
Jay yelped. Kai tried hard not to look down at his friend.
The woman — Skylor — turned to Kai and asked, “What was that you said?”
Kai shrugged. “I said ‘Yelp! What a beautiful night.’ ”
Below the balcony, Jay struggled to hold on. But he knew he couldn’t get caught. Not by Chen’s guards or the other competitors. Either one was sure to turn him in to Chen for breaking rules.
The woman and Kai continued to chat for a while, while Jay grew more and more frustrated. Jay was sure that Kai was trying to torture him by forcing him to hang on for as long as he did. Finally, Kai said good night, and Skylor went back inside her suite.
Jay swung up onto Kai’s balcony and griped, “You just had to leave me hanging.”
Kai grinned. Inside, the other ninja took in Kai’s suite. “Nice digs,” said Jay.
“I know!” said Cole. “His room is so much nicer than mine. Look, chocolate-covered peas. I love these!” He grabbed a handful, then jumped onto Kai’s bed. “And look how soft your pillows are! Mine are made of rock. What a crock.”
Suddenly, the bed flipped over — with Cole inside it!
The other three didn’t notice he was gone.
“So, like we planned,” said Lloyd. “Tonight, we stick together.”
Suddenly, the bed rotated back around and Cole was on top of it again. No one had even realized he’d been gone. “Uh, guys? This bed is —”
“Cole, I get it,” snapped Kai. “You like my bed. Would you stop playing around?”
Cole nodded. He looked to the drawing of the snake symbol Kai had seen near his bed, then back at his friends. He grinned widely.
“I think I know how we can search the island!” he exclaimed.
He told the others his plan, and a few moments later, all four ninja were squeezed into Kai’s bed.
“You’re right,” said Jay. “The pillows are soft.”
Lloyd looked annoyed. “I feel ridiculous. Is this a joke?”
Cole poked at the mattress, looking for something. “I must’ve done something to trigger it before. I was lying here, then I stretched —”
Cole reached his arm up and felt around. He pressed on the pillows, and on the wall near the snake symbol. Suddenly, his finger hit a small hidden button on the headboard, and the bed flipped over!
The four ninja fell out of the bed and thudded loudly on the ground of a dark tunnel. They had found some sort of hidden chamber below Kai’s room!
“A secret passageway,” said Jay, eyes wide. “Cool!”
Kai nodded. “Nice work, Cole.” He considered something for a moment. He thought about how guards had seemed to just appear when they were near the waterfall, close to the symbol — but where had they come from? Then he thought about how Karlof had mysteriously disappeared into the trapdoor in the ground after the battle the night before. He considered their search from earlier in the day, and how they’d found no leads while looking for Zane. Suddenly, he had a new idea. What if the mysterious symbol was a sign of trapdoors leading into the island?
“Guys?” Kai said. “Maybe Zane’s not on the island, but in it.”
The four ninja smiled at one another as they all realized the same thing: They had just found their first real lead in the search for Zane. It was time to search underground!
The next stage of the ninja’s adventure was officially on.
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This edition first printing, March 2015
e-ISBN 978-0-545-77780-3
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