Legends of Ninjago: Book 3: The Four Fangs: Chapter 14 — Choice Words

((Hey there, real quick I wanted to let you all know about why my posting schedule has been kinda all over the place recently, lol. Simply put, it’s the Holiday Season! The most busy time of year! So if I don’t post a chapter one week, or it’s very late, that probably just means I have gotten very distracted baking pies, being forced to socialise, cleaning, or just trying to regain hours of lost sleep. Rest assured, that after January 3rd, this craziness should subside. In the meantime, go be with your families and friends and enjoy yourselves this holiday season! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate this time of year, and a Happy New Year to you all! ❤️))

There wasn’t much they could do about the Hypnobrai besides monitor them, except Cole of course, who didn’t want to be anywhere near those snakes right now. Instead, he waited in a corner of the back stage area where it was slightly quieter and tried to center himself. To focus on what he needed to do. They would be up to perform again soon.

Someone came over and stood next to him.

“How are you feeling, Cole?” Liu asked gently.

“Better,” he replied, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he meant it. “Just trying to get my head in the game.”

Liu nodded thoughtfully and Cole watched the older man from the corner of his eye. There would be no telling what could happen within the next two rounds, and the reality of the Serpentine’s presence not only put the mission in danger, it put his father in danger. After everything Liu had done for him these past few weeks… didn’t he owe him the truth? At least somewhat? He clinched his jaw and fiddled with cuff of his sleeve.

“Hey, Dad?” Liu looked up at him, and Cole could only face the ground. “There’s something… I think I need to tell you…”

He swallowed and opened his mouth, but then a sudden hand on his shoulder made him stop. Liu was smiling at him. “It’s alright. I know.”

“You do?” Cole asked, very surprised. How could he possibly know about the ninja training and the elemental powers and everything? Unless Wu told him maybe?

“Yes. And I love you too,” Liu went on, his moustache wrinkled by his tight smile. “You’re mother loves you too.”

Cole’s eyes dropped to the floor again and he nodded in a defeated sort of way. Of course his father didn’t know. He was too busy traveling and performing to notice. Of course he didn’t know.

“Thanks, Dad,” he said quickly, still not entirely sure if he meant it.

About halfway into the second round, Spin Harmony was called into the waiting area. As they stood there, all anyone could think about were the Hypnobrai who were hiding somewhere up above them in the stage lights. It was lucky for them that they were immune to their hypnotic powers, or else they’d be done for. Cole felt his stomach squirm as he lamented the fact that he was the only one who was not so protected protected from their attack. Letting Scales into his head was the worst decision he had ever made, and he was still paying for it. Someday soon, however, he was hoping he could return the favour.

So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, least ways not to the audience, and they’d have to keep it that way if they hoped to ever get their hands on that trophy. The show needed to go on.

“Cole?” Ann suddenly asked next to him. He stole his courage and looked straight at her. She seemed uncomfortable. Was she still nervous about performing?

“What’s up?” He whispered.

“I was thinking about something,” she said slowly. “Your dad… what he said about my singing… it would help us a lot if I could sing the way he was talking about, right?”

Cole thought for a moment. His dad could be a little nuts sometimes, but he usually had impeccable judgment when it came to singing. Whatever it was he had tried to teach her was probably worth trying.

“Do you think you can do it?” He asked, watching her fingers idly fidget with themselves.

“I’m not sure…” she replied. “Your father said that I needed to feel the emotions of the song, but I’ve never…” she broke off and for a moment it almost seemed like her cheeks were flushing under her mask. “Have you ever been in love?”

Cole felt his whole body go rigid as she stared up at him with bigger eyes than he ever thought possible. She was earnestly asking a question, looking for an intelligent answer, but there was scarcely a coherent thought to be found in Cole’s mind at the moment.

“Uh—um—well,” he stammered, feeling very warm all of a sudden. Darn it, what should he say? “I might have…” he eventually mumbled.

“What’s it like?”

He took a breath and stared at her, standing there looking like an angel. His heart was jumping in his chest, his hands felt sweaty, and his stomach felt almost nauseous. But she was perfect.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered.

Ann turned away, her eyes studying a million private thoughts as they swirled around inside her mind. He swallowed one more time as he reminded himself that he couldn’t afford to get distracted. They needed to win, not gaze into each other’s eyes. He could do this.

The curtain dropped on the group in front of them and it was time.

Everyone took their places, a bit more confidently this time, and waited patiently for the announcer to introduce them again. Cole stole a glance up above him, but it was too dark to see anything, least of all a Serpentine. He decided not to let his eyes linger, though, just in case they were up there, waiting for a chance to steal his mind. The very thought of it sent this nasty feeling through his nervous system.

“Hey,” Ann whispered suddenly, drawing his attention. “Right hand at my waist, my hand in yours. I’ll follow your lead.”

Cole breathed even harder and tried not to smile too broadly. He could do this. They could do this. With their arms locked into place, confident stage smiles at the ready, the curtains rose, the lights blinded them, and the music began to play.

“You’re walking along the street or you’re at a party,” they both sang, circling around each other, while the others mirrored them in the background. “Or else you’re alone and then you suddenly dig! You’re looking in someone’s eyes, you suddenly realise… that this could be the start of something big!”

There was definitely something happening. Ann’s performance had practically come alive compared to the first round. Or maybe Cole was just imagining it. There was something about her smile that just felt more genuine, something about the way she danced that felt more passionate. It made him want to match that passion, and also release some of the butterflies in his stomach.

“There’s no controlling the unrolling of your fate, my friend,” Ann sang solo, doing her little hand-motion routine to match. “Who knows what’s written in the magic book.”

Then Cole rejoined her, taking her hand. “But when a lover, you discover, at the gate, my friend… invite her in without a second look!”

As they entered into the next verse, Cole could’ve sworn he heard something. Something mechanical. Something above them.

He only had a moment to think, but a moment was enough. He could sense the motion long before he saw it, glancing up just once before he pulled Ann into an aerial just as one of the stage lights fell from the grid and smashed into the floor where she had been standing not a moment ago. Rather than stopping, though, Cole led them in front of the giant thing and finished the verse with a dramatic pose.

“…that this could be the start of something grand!”

The crowd was understandably startled, and several people had screamed, but they finished their second round routine, and none the worse for wear. Better yet, his mask hadn’t come off, the others (from what he had seen) managed to hit all their marks, and the only major mishap was, you know, the giant stage light that had nearly crushed Ann.

The show was immediately sent to intermission, the curtains closed, and the stage crew started swarming the place, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. If those snakes were trying not to cause a scene, they sure were doing a real great job of it.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked Ann as they exited the stage. “I didn’t pull on your arm too hard, did I?”

“I’m alright,” she said, looking back at where she’d been standing. “Just glad that I’m not paste. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He had to keep taking deep breaths, though, in an attempt to slow down his heart.

“We’re all thinking the same thing, right?” Kai asked.

“Duh,” said Jay. “Do you know what it would take for something like that to just fall on a whim?”

“We need to take up a more defensive strategy,” Zane said smoothly. “The Serpentine—“

“Cole! Ann!” Liu blurted, running toward them, Nya at his heels. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

“We’re not sure,” Cole lied. “But we’re fine.”

“Cole pulled me to safety just in time,” Ann explained.

“Hmm. Pity,” Nya quipped under her breath. Ann shot her a withering glare.

“Thank Heaven,” Liu breathed. “I’m going to have a word with the chief of the lighting crew. This is simply unprecedented!” As he stormed away, Nya turned to them, a worried look on her face.

“Was that what I think it was?” She asked.

Cole nodded. “But they won’t get a second chance. Come on, while it’s still intermission.”

“Where exactly are we going?” Ann asked as he led them through the chaos that was backstage.

Only once they had made it to a quiet corner did Cole say, “A little recon,” and took off his top hat, mask, and tie. Up above him, there were heavy bars and beams and platforms used for maintenance in the space above the stage known as the fly tower, or grid. It was a little out of reach, but that was no problem for him. He gauged the distance, then, using his training and strength, leapt up and grabbed hold of the nearest beam. From there, pulling himself up was child’s play.

“What are you guys waiting for?” He asked them, looking down.

Kai, Jay, and Zane all made their way as quietly as possible, but Ann and Keaton lingered on the ground.

“I don’t think your dad would appreciate me ripping this dress,” she said. “We’ll stay down here and poke around a bit.”

“Alright,” said Cole, and then, as he turned back to the others he added, “Travel by shadow, boys.”

They began making their way through the jungle gym that was before them with all the grace and silence that their one year of training would allow. Cole’s dancing shoes were most definitely not up to ninja standards, but he made do. More than anything else, he was looking for those no-good, scaly, slimy monsters who had to be nearby, but so far the only other people up here were the stage crew, trying desperately to figure out what had happened with the lights. They wouldn’t find anything though.

Cole led the group further in, keeping all of Sensei Wu’s lessons about stealth in mind. His all black suit helped a lot with that.

Soon enough, though, it became clear that the Serpentine had retreated, although where to was still a mystery. There weren’t a lot of options, least of all quiet ones, and the more Cole thought about it, the more he began to wonder if the Serpentine had figured out a way to make themselves invisible.

* * *

Ann took Keaton and Nya with her to the dressing room area, looking for one in particular.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Nya whispered for the fifteenth time.

“It will be fine,” Ann hissed. “Now shush!”

“Thirty-five!” Keaton called to them a few steps ahead. Ann had her hand on the doorknob in two seconds, but then paused. Slowly, she let go and instead looked back at Nya. They needed to keep this low-profile, and busting down the door was definitely not that.

“Nya,” she mouthed and motioned to the door. “Pretend you’re a staff member.”

“What?” Nya mouthed back, her eyes growing wide.

Before she had a second to object, Ann was already knocking on the door. “Demon Scream?” She called out in a very professional voice. She grabbed Nya’s arm and practically dragged her into place as she started to open the door. To her credit, Nya managed to pull herself together enough so that when she stuck her head into the dressing room, she didn’t sound like a total amateur.

“You’re on in—“ she was saying, but then she looked back at Ann. “The room’s empty.”

That was odd. The staff lady they had talked to said that she saw the group heading back this way. Still, it was a golden opportunity. She moved passed Nya and opened the door wider, slinking inside.

“What are you doing?!” Nya whisper-shrieked.

“Shh!” Ann retorted.

There had to be something in here that was helpful. She was vaguely aware of Keaton closing the door, and subsequently Nya looking like she was having mini heart attack, but for the most part her attention was on the junk-filled dressing room which looked like it had been given the “rock star hotel” treatment. There were some useful things out, some combs and creams and such, but mostly there were soda cans and jerky wrappers and all sorts of vending-machine type junk. Not exactly helpful stuff.

Ann took a breath. She needed to look deeper; there had to be something. So she opened drawers, she opened bags, and then finally, she opened the supply closet at the back of the room and jumped back out of surprise. There was a man standing in there. She heard Nya stifle a yelp.

“That’s Mr. Archambault,” she breathed. “The stylist Mr. Becket hired.”

Ann did a quick checkup of the man and he didn’t seem hurt, but his eyes were swirling in a very familiar way. Too familiar. She could feel her stomach squirming a bit as she recoiled, taking in the scene from a distance.

“Do you think they were trying to sabotage us?” Keaton asked.

“Or they needed a stylist,” Nya shuddered.

Ann wasn’t sure what the reason, but she did know that Mr. Archambault would know more than they would, so she stepped up to him and slapped him gently in the face. He didn’t snap out of the hypnosis. Then she created a water blob and splashed him with it. That seemed to do the trick. He spluttered and looked around in a daze.

“Where am I? What iz happening?” He asked in a thick accent.

“You’re at the Performing Arts Competition,” Ann explained gently, helping him out of the closet. “Do you remember anything? Like who attacked you? Where they went?”

“I do not know… my head…” he said, reaching for his forehead.

“It’s alright,” said Ann. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Just as she took him by the arm, though, the door was opened and five figures were standing on the other side, making Ann’s fighting muscles tense.

“Where do you think you’re going?” They asked in unison.

“Why do the Serpentine have to be so creepy?” Nya asked, cringing a bit.

* * *

Backstage, the situation was quickly cooling down. The crew had discovered no evidence of mechanical failure and after cleaning up the light wreckage, they were good to go again. Cole, Kai, Jay, and Zane all propelled themselves to ground level where they reclaimed their hats, ties, and masks.

“Well, now what?” Kai asked, tying his mask on.

“We find the girls and see if they had better luck,” said Cole as he straitened his tie.

They weaved through the crowd of performers, expecting to find their teammates somewhere nearby, but eventually, after circling the room a few times, they realised that the girls must have gone looking elsewhere.

“Do you think we should check on them?” Jay asked.

Cole peered over the crowd, searching for any sign of that dark bun and white mask, but finding nothing. “They should be fine,” he decided. “As long as Ann’s with them.”

Kai snorted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she’s the most experienced fighter on this team,” Cole said stiffly.

“Whatever you say, man,” Kai went on, folding his arms and leaning against the nearest wall.

Cole rolled his eyes and looked out over the crowd again, waiting to see the girls appear from around a corner or slink out of an off-limits area.

“So what is our plan to deal with the Serpentine going forward?” Asked Zane.

“Well,” said Cole, “If we made it to the final round, then, for one thing, we stay alive. For another, we might have to do some sabotage of our own.”

“Seriously?” Jay asked.

“They’re Serpentine, they’re not even supposed to be here,” Cole countered, crossing his arms. “Besides, the sooner we can get our hands on the trophy, the better. If that means taking them out, then I’m okay with that.”

“So were we planning on taking the whole thing or just the knife?” Jay said, fiddling with his top hat.

“The knife’ll probably be too well secured. Better to just take the whole thing,” Kai explained with a shrug.

“And once we have it, we’ll be outa here. Hopefully, for good.” Cole added that last part under his breath, thinking about how impossible it would be to come back after doing something like this. He looked around again, starting to worry a little about where the girls were. Perhaps poking around wouldn’t be such a bad idea. “I’m going to get a drink of water,” he told the guys, and took off toward the nearest water jug.

“Well… that didn’t take long.”

Cole felt his legs freeze up. Slowly, his eyes turned toward the man standing behind one of the many giant props stored backstage. He had his hands in his pockets and his eyebrows were knit together, creating hard lines across his forehead.

“Dad,” Cole stammered. “Hey, you’re back. Did you, uh, talk to the stage manager?” He swallowed as Liu continued to stare at him. “Went that well, huh?”

“Is it true?” Liu asked, his voice tense.

“Is what true?”

“Your plans for the competition.”

Cole could feel his chest tightening. “Dad, what are you talking about?”

“I heard you,” he said, his face growing more lined. “You’re going to steal the Blade Cup.” There didn’t seem to be any way Cole could lie his way out of this, but worse than that, he couldn’t think of anything else to say. “Why?” Liu seemed genuinely hurt. “You came all this way, not to see me, or to write some phoney essay.”

There were people passing by who were starting to stare, so Cole grabbed a nearby backdrop and wheeled it behind him, as if he were closing a sliding door. It wasn’t very thick, but at least it offered a smidge of privacy.

“Dad, I know how this must look—“

“You think?”

“But I promise you, there is a totally reasonable explanation.”

“Well then, let’s hear it,” said Liu, placing his hands on his hips.

Cole tightened his fists and slumped his shoulders. “I… I can’t… tell you.”

“Oh, well that’s convenient. Do you have any idea the lengths I went to to get you and your friends into this competition? How much time and energy I sunk into this?”

“No one asked you to,” Cole said, feeling the urge to snarl.

“And who asked you to attempt robbery? I cannot believe I’m even having this conversation…” Liu started a pace a bit in the little room they had. “How long has this been going on for? Your professor said that you’ve been doing well—I just don’t understand…” Then his head snapped up. “Is it those friends of yours?”

“No, Dad—“

“Have they been coercing you this whole time?”

“Dad—“

“Tell me why my son has been lying to me for the past three weeks!”

“I didn’t ask to be here for the last three weeks!” Cole finally snapped. “You’re the one who practically held us at gun point and forced us to learn this stupid routine instead of just answering a very simple question!”

“Oh yes, I suppose I should have just been complicit in helping a burglar!”

“You don’t understand what’s really going on—“

“What’s not to understand!?”

“Can’t you just trust me for once in my life?!”

“You’re the one who’s been lying to my face!”

Cole was vaguely aware of the sound of little wheels being rolled away, and then he felt a burly hand on his shoulder. “Is there a problem here?” The man said in a low voice. A security guard.

There was this burning sensation in Cole’s chest, begging to be unleashed, and when that hand touched his shoulder, instinct took over. He grabbed the man’s arm, hard enough he heard something pop, and twisted it around until Cole’s other hand was at his throat.

“We’re just talking,” he said grimly, and let him go.

Four or five other security guards were already rushing in, their eyes locked on Cole.

“It’s alright, sirs,” said Liu suddenly as he walked up to them. “Just a little family dispute. It’s over now.”

The security guard who Cole had attacked was glaring daggers. “Try that again and I’ll have you dragged out of here on a stretcher.” Cole felt his lip twitch in mild amusement.

At Liu’s request, though, they began to disperse and the two Becket men were left alone among the stage props. From this angle, Cole couldn’t really see his father’s face, but he already knew what it looked like.

“…I can’t stop you… can I?” He asked quietly, not turning to look at him. “…Well… I, for one, will have no part in this.”

“Dad—“

“Good luck.”

Liu walked away with heavy footsteps—several people gawking at him for uttering the words-that-must-not-be-said. From somewhere far away, the announcer’s voice returned, beaming confidence and reassurance to the audience while Cole watched with sunken spirits his father exit the backstage area. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

He suddenly felt very ridiculous in that tuxedo, with the stupid hat and tie and mask. He needed to get out of here. He needed to punch something. He needed to run until his legs and lungs were on fire. Anything to get away from this feeling.

“Cole?” Kai whispered, rounding a corner. “Cole, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he whispered back, his fists still clenched.

“Have you seen the girls yet?” Jay asked.

The girls. No he hadn’t. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t seen the rock band, Demon Scream, either. They were both the only acts missing from the backstage. He suddenly got a very nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He took off speed walking through the crowd, looking for a crew member while the other guys followed, alarmed and confused. The first two men he found said they hadn’t seen anything, but then a woman with an earpiece approached him saying that the girls had asked her about Demon Scream several minutes ago. They had gone off in the direction of their dressing room. That nasty feeling grew tenfold.

Cole and the boys burst into the dressing room hallways, walking as fast as they could without running.

“You think they’re in danger?” Zane asked.

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” was all Cole said.

They counted the doors until they reached number thirty-five and didn’t hesitate to burst in unannounced. Cole had his fists up, ready for anything, but what he saw in that small room was far more unsettling than anything else he could have possibly imagined. It was a total mess, junk everywhere, supplies spilled all over the floor, chairs broken into pieces, and everything dripping water. Ann had been here, and she’d been attacked. As he numbly stepped into the room, he noticed a white, glossy mask lying underneath one of the tables, smeared with a small amount of blood.

“Oh no…” Kai breathed.

The closet door suddenly thumped.

“Ow!” Someone moaned from inside. That sounded like Keaton.

“Just use your powers already!” Someone else said, possibly Nya.

“Oh, yes, now there’s an idea. Create a pressurised air strike inside of a small wooden box!”

Cole was across the room in two steps. He didn’t know how to unlock the door without the key, so he ripped the handle out of its socket instead. When the door opened, three figures stumbled out: Nya, Keaton, and some guy with a moustache.

“Guys!” Keaton cried and she raced for Cole, tackling him with a hug.

“Nya,” Kai said, relieved, as the brother and sister embraced.

The older gentleman and Jay exchanged a look. “I’m not hugging you,” said Jay, throwing up his hands.

“The Serpentine have Ann,” Keaton blurted. “Come on, we have to get her back!”

After Nya told Mr. Archambault to head back to his car and try to forget about everything that just happened, the team bolted out the door, looking for any sign that would point them in the Serpentine’s direction.

* * *

Ann’s ears were ringing. Her head hurt a little, too. With some effort, she opened her eyes and forced them to focus. Where exactly was she? The last thing she remembered was the band coming into the dressing room, telling Nya and Keaton to get behind her, and then something cold and scaly had suddenly wrapped around her neck. There was a fight—barely more than a blur of shouting and struggling now—and then… nothing.

As she started moving around a bit, stretching the muscles in her face, she felt something dry and crusty on her upper lip beneath her nose. She hoped she hadn’t broken it.

There were voices nearby. She dropped back into a limp position and listened carefully.

“…forever. Can’t they jus-s-st get it over with?”

“As-s-soon as-s-s we get the ninja off our backs-s-s, then we can move in on the Fang Blade.”

“Well what are we waiting for?”

Three Hypnobrai entered the room via what sounded like an old, rickety door. Now that she thought about it, the air smelled musty, like old wood. They were in some kind of decrepit building, but where? The Performing Arts Center was surrounded by a big parking lot, there wasn’t exactly anything nearby. As her senses returned to her, she could feel the rope around her torso, and the metal chair under her body. Typical.

The three Hypnobrai were slithering closer now.

“S-s-so… how should we dis-s-spos-s-se of her?”

“Should we try to take her first?”

“I think that would greatly pleas-s-se Chief Scales-s-s.”

Chief Scales? Fang Blade? She needed to get this information back to the group as soon as possible.

Then, a clawed hand grabbed her by the face. She felt her eyes forced open and two bulbous red swirls were staring down at her, making her brain flash with all sorts of unpleasant memories. Scales, Cole, the Hypnobrai, Lloyd, even bits and pieces of that final battle at Greta Junction. She clenched her jaw, determined to withstand it. There was no way she was going to let them in, not now, not ever. The longer she held out, though, the greater the pain in her head swelled. It started near the crown, just above her forehead, and then it grew until it was practically splitting her skull.

“AHHH!!!” She finally screamed, and pulled up her legs into a kicking position. Only this kick had the force of a fire hydrant behind it. The Serpentine was knocked back into a puddle on the floor while the other two advanced on her. With all her might she swung the chair she was attached to around, hitting one, but missing the other. Then something heavy pinned her to the floor, squishing her face so much it was going to leave splinters.

* * *

“AHHH!!!”

The sound had been distant and muffled, but there was no mistaking the owner of that voice. The subtle thumps that followed it were by no means reassuring, and made Cole double his speed. The only problem was, he still didn’t know where he was going.

“That had to have come from the next floor up,” Kai said, but the next floor was practically empty.

“The third floor, then,” Jay offered.

“There is no third floor!” Cole snapped.

“Then what’s all that space in the roof for?” Jay countered.

“The fly tower—the grid—stage equipment!” Cole was pacing now, trying to redirect energy from his fists to his legs.

“Then what’s that?” Keaton asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“What’s what?” Said Cole as he came over.

She just kept staring up. “I can feel it… a draft. Right there.”

Cole didn’t know about any draft, but the closer he looked at the ceiling, the more he thought he saw a faint outline of something. His hand easily touched the roof and felt the wood of it, smooth and cool. Then, a crack—or maybe more of a groove. When he pushed on it, an attic door opened up, revealing its cobweb ridden secrets.

“What would we do without you,” Cole grinned in Keaton’s direction.

Up into the attic they climbed, one by one, with Kai lighting their way. The space they were in appeared to be some kind of unfinished third level, with rooms and open doorways and all sorts of other things that were now just sitting, rotting away. ‘So this is how the Serpentine have been moving around,’ Cole thought.

“ERGH!!!”

Ann’s cry came from somewhere up ahead, accompanied by more thumps.

“I think it came from over here,” Kai called as he took off down one of the halls. It was so difficult to tell, though, where the sounds were coming from, and even more difficult to figure how to get there through the maze of rooms. Keaton in particular seemed frustrated by it all.

“How do we know we’re not going in circles?” She asked at one point. Cole didn’t know how to answer that honestly.

After running into several dead-ends, the group finally found what appeared to be an actual functioning door. Keaton had her hand on the doorknob before Cole could blink, and nearly fell thirty feet on the other side. She suppressed a shriek as she gingerly regained her balance, Cole peering over her shoulder to see the fly tower in all its glory. It wasn’t the only thing he saw.

In the rafters and rigging and poles, three Hypnobrai were coiled up. One was holding the end of a thick rope. As he followed it down to its other end, his stomach felt sick. There, dangling above the auditorium in the dark, was Ann, strapped to a metal chair. If only he had his scythe right about now.

The Serpentine’s message was clear: interfere, and Ann was done for. Not only that, but if they even tried to save her using their powers, the whole auditorium would see Ann fall. As it stood right now, she was just barely out of sight.

More Hypnobrai slithered into view from goodness-knows what crevice, and they lowered themselves by their tails so that they could see the audience. Cole was vaguely aware of the band taking the stage.

He could feel Keaton by his side, tense as a tiger ready to pounce, but he put a hand on her shoulder and thought through their options carefully.

Now, it wasn’t ideal, but if they waited until the audience was hypnotised, there was a chance they could go on stage to save Ann and no one would remember. Oh, but the cameras would still be rolling. He eyed one of the big, bulky cameras, moving around on its little crane thingy. Alright then.

“Jay,” Cole whispered out the side of his mouth. “Cut power to the cameras.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

Slowly, Jay disappeared into the hall.

Demon Scream’s final performance had begun, and once again, Cole had to close his eyes. The red flashing light was just too much.

“Guys,” he whispered again. “On my signal, we move in on Ann and the Serpentine.”

* * *

Jay slunk his way back through the halls of old wood and cobwebs, searching for another door that would lead him back down to the second floor. He had in his hand a small ball of electricity for light, but he didn’t dare try to make it larger for fear of it becoming erratic and setting something on fire.

Eventually, he found another floor door that dropped him into one of the dressing rooms on the second story. Lucky for him, there was nobody in there.

Most everyone was still backstage, either crew members working to make sure the show ran smoothly, or performing acts who were waiting for their queue. No one was paying attention to one boy sneaking into the media room. Here, dozens of computer monitors displayed what each camera on stage was seeing, while one man directed which feed they actively showed on tv at any given time. Right now, though, as Demon Scream was performing and the red and white lights flashed, they all seemed a bit numb. They didn’t look up when he entered the room, no one was really saying anything, they were just sitting there, staring at their screens.

Jay casually walked over to the nearest giant computer and placed a single hand on it. He could feel the thrum of electricity inside of it, like a million tiny tingles of static electricity constantly zapping each other. He squinted as he mentally told it to go to sleep.

The lights in the room went out. The people still seemed to be in a bit of a daze, but they were coming around, and if Jay didn’t get out of there soon, he’d be in big trouble.

* * *

Cole couldn’t look yet, but he could hear Demon Scream’s performance being interrupted. The announcer had come back on stage, and in a very hollow voice said,

“This is a bit out of the ordinary, but the judges have decided that Demon Scream’s performance is just so amazing that they’re declaring them the winners right now and giving them the Blade Cup!”

The crowd all stood up and started clapping and saying “wooo” “yay” in the most unconvincing way you’ve ever heard.

This was just ridiculous. No one who wasn’t brainwashed would ever possibly buy this.

Then, suddenly—

The lights went out. Cole could finally look down at the stage, but now there was nothing to see. He grit his teeth.

‘Darn it, Jay! I just wanted the cameras, not the whole building!’ He growled inwardly.

Still, who knows how long they had until the lights came back on.

“Go!” He yelled, and he could hear the others start moving. Cole wanted nothing more than to wring those Serpentine by their scrawny little necks, but he knew he shouldn’t risk seeing those eyes of theirs, so he instead went after Ann with Keaton while the others dealt with the snakes.

As expected, they dropped the rope Ann was hanging by and she started plummeting to wear the stage floor, but lucky for them, Keaton could make air cushions. Cole imagined that Ann must have still gotten a few bruises from the landing, but it was better than a serious injury.

“You okay?” He asked when he reached her, groping for the knot in the ropes.

“None the worse for wear,” she groaned.

Then, from above, they heard a most unpleasant voice. “Humans-s-s! Attack!”

The backup lights suddenly flicked on, casting an eerie glow onto the stage as the members of Demon Scream, and the entire auditorium, stood up and started moving on on the ninja.

“Alright, if they don’t wanna play fair, then neither do I!” Cole yelled.

First, he went over to the right hand side of the stage and pulled on the heavy curtain until it started to rip from whatever it was connected to. Once the thing was free, he dragged it over to the audience and flung it on top of the people closest to him. That should keep them busy for a little while at least.

When he turned around, Ann and Keaton had already taken care of the band members. One had a guitar imprint on his face, another had his head stuck in a drum.

Cole took a breath as he realised what he needed to do now. Up into the fly tower he climbed, jumping from support beam to beam, the girls at his sides. When he got up there, Kai and Zane were desperately trying to fight off their opponents while at a severe disadvantage. Neither of them, presumably, wanted to use their powers for fear of burning down or freezing the whole auditorium, plus the Serpentine had a strength advantage and a mobility advantage, slithering around the metal beams and bars with ease.

The three of them charge in, a large rock already at Cole’s side, and he swung it at the nearest Serpentine, hitting him in the back and sending him crashing onto the stage. Ann was nearby, blasting one of the other snakes down the walking platform. He looked around for Kai and Zane, but they were busy wrestling another Serpentine.

Something coiled around his torso and he immediately tensed. When it tried to pull him backward, he had his hand on a metal bar and held on for dear life. Her looked down, his neck struggling to bend that far, and saw two Hypnobrai behind him, their tails wrapped around his chest.

Looking back at the bar he was holding onto, he suddenly got an idea. With the same strength he used to rip the curtains off the wall, he pushed on the metal bar until it started to buckle at the seams. With a very loud POP they dislodged from their welded sockets and as Cole was pulled back, he twisted around until he could smack those Hypnobrai monsters in the face with his new metal pole. An uppercut to one, a horizontal strike to the other, knocking them out. They, too, fell to the stage, where the audience was now starting to swarm.

“Look out below!” Cole called.

Then, he thought he saw someone moving against the crowd. A second later, the fly tower shook a little as someone else had climbed up into it.

“You guys started the party without me?” Jay quipped, jumping through the metal beams. There were still at least five more Serpentine to deal with. The lighting ninja already had his hands glowing with electricity. “It’s about to get hot in here!”

“NONONO, JAY!!!” Ann shrieked, but it was too late.

Jay’s hands were shooting off large bolts of lightning, which, in all fairness, did hit the Hypnobrai, they just also hit everyone else. Cole felt his whole body tense from a sudden blinding, deafening, searing hot pain, and the next thing he knew, he was falling on top of the Hypnobrai on the stage. At least they had broken his fall.

Cole blinked hard a few times, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened, and the first thing he saw clearly was Jay, up in the grid, looking down at him.

“Sorry,” he said meekly. “There’s a lot of metal up here.”

“Gee, really!? You don’t say!?” Cole snapped back up at him.

He felt like barbecued chicken as he got up from the pile of Serpentine and became aware of all the people who had gather on the stage looking down at him. Their eyes didn’t seem to be glowing anymore.

“What happened?” One of them said.

“Weren’t we just sitting over…?”

“What’s going on?”

“Are those Serpentine?”

“Folks!” Cole said, getting up and wincing. “It’s alright! This competition has been compromised by some no-good Hypnobrai, who were trying to steal the Blade Cup!” The crowd murmured in astonishment.

“That’s right!” The announcer cried. “I remember! They told me to give them the trophy!” He looked like he had seen a ghost, he was so pale.

“But as you can see, the situation has been taken care of!” Cole went on, only to be interrupted by the security guards in the crowd who came marching forward.

“We’ll take it from here, kid,” one garbled, reaching for the limp Serpentine and dragging them off.

Cole glanced up at the grid one last time, and his friends were long gone, hopefully somewhere safe. Down on the stage, the people started filing back down to their seats, or just leaving the building altogether. The stage crew were beside themselves with how one of the curtains had managed to come off from the rigging, or how an entire metal pole had fallen from the fly tower, or how the power had gone out in the first place.

About ten minutes later, the authorities arrived and started taking statements and arresting the Serpentine and closing down the Performing Arts Center. Cole made sure to find his friends and keep to themselves as much as possible.

As far as the competition went, it was thoroughly cancelled. After three weeks of intensive training, it seemed that no one would be getting the Blade Cup now. The seven of them were standing around in a corner, glowering at the floor, their clothing singed and hair frizzy.

“So what now?” Nya asked. She had seen the whole thing play out from the doorway in the third story.

Cole sighed. “Nothing. Unless you all want to try breaking into the deep storage unit the trophy’s kept in.”

They listened for a while, to the din of people talking and officers taking statements.

“Hey, Cole?” Keaton asked. “Where’s your dad?”

Cole’s shoulders slumped even more than they already were. He had very intentionally been trying to forget about that. “He… he’s gone.” The others watched him carefully. “He overheard us planning to take the blade… he left.”

“I’m sorry, Cole,” Kai said gently.

He kept his eyes on the floor and nodded slightly. What a way to start Winter Fest.

Eventually, a police officer came over and took each of their statements, which were basically identical to what everyone else had been saying all night: No, officer, I don’t remember what happened.

Cole looked around at everyone and sighed. Especially when he looked at Ann. In the electric shock, the white dress had taken significant damage. The feathers, especially, were reduced to nothing more than white nibs. He’d have a hard time explaining that to his dad, if he ever saw him again.

A while later, after the police had started to pack up, and the ninja were starting to head toward the door themselves, a gentleman approached them out on the lobby. He was an older fellow, with small oval glasses and a tailored suit.

“Excuse me?” He said to them, prompting the teens to wonder if they were in some kind of trouble. “I was wondering if I might have a word with you all?” Cautiously, the group followed him to a more private area of the lobby. “My name if Phineas Peabody. I’m the man who founded this competition.”

Oh great. Was he here to chew them out?

“I was in the toilet during the start of this whole… kerfuffle, and when I came back, I saw something extraordinary,” Mr. Peabody went on.

Cole felt the urge to say something—to lie, to cover things up—but then Mr. Peabody raised a hand.

“Please, don’t try to explain. The less I know, the better. But one thing I do know: you saved us all from those monsters, didn’t you?”

The teens glanced around at each other, as if waiting for permission, before they each slowly nodded. Mr. Peabody smiled.

“I knew it. Well, the competition may be scrapped for this year, but I feel that we simply cannot leave without naming a proper winner.” He walked out of sight for a moment, disappearing into some unseen room, and returned wheeling the Blade Cup on a trolly. “For outstanding vigour and chivalry in the face of danger—and a superb floor show, I might add—I believe it is only right that Spin Harmony be crowned this year’s Performing Arts Champions.”

Cole was besides himself. Sure, they might not have won if it weren’t for the Serpentine, which was a weird thought, but still, that was the Blade Cup, sitting right there, three feet away from him.

“I don’t believe it,” he muttered. The others seemed just as stunned.

“But we didn’t win,” said Nya, confused. Ann elbowed her.

“You did in my book,” Mr. Peabody said good-naturedly.

The group might have been more elated if they hadn’t just all been electrocuted, but the joy was there nonetheless. They did it! Somehow, they did it!

“I can’t believe that actually worked!” Kai blurted, laughing to himself.

“It’s so shiny!” Keaton was saying as she looked at her reflection in it.

“Solid gold,” Cole breathed.

“Solid what? Gold?” Mr. Peabody asked, frowning. “Oh—I see. No no no, this is just plated aluminium.”

Cole blinked. “What?”

“Well, we can’t exactly have the real Blade Cup just sitting out in the open, can we? This is a replica. The real cup is in the Ninjago City Museum.”

Cole stared at him. So did everyone else.

Zane turned and looked at him. “You said you read the Zikipedia page.”

Cole could feel his face turning red. He had said that, but in reality, he had more or less skimmed over said Zikipedia page.

“Well, don’t look so mopey,” said Mr. Peabody. “Come along. We’ve got a plaque to make to commemorate your victory!”

Three weeks of training and one very long day of dancing and not dying… for an aluminium fake and a plaque. Oh yeah. This was going to be hard to live down.