Update (19/01/2019):

I have made a couple of (small) changes to this chapter.

There was a stupid mistake in the timeline (the 'discoveries' all took place in the evening, then the Ninja and Samurai had to get ready and to Orobourus, so the only way to have them fight at daylight was to make them travel through the night 😉.)

Original author's note from 17/10/2018:

I actually wasn't planning on updating this book until November, but I have already finished writing the next two chapters for my 👻 Halloween 🎃 story, so I thought I'd deserve a little break from that one 😉.

Also, today is FaithRenewing 's birthday, and I know that she really likes this story so this is my way of saying 🎁 Happy Birthday 🎂 my friend!

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The Trap

As Jay was flying his Storm Fighter across the desert towards Oroborous, he wondered if Nya had already received his message – they had talked just before he had sent it so her phone might have still been close by – and if she had understood its meaning.

Even if his girlfriend wasn't aware of him being a Ninja (which he wasn't too sure of anymore), she definitely knew that the guys had been looking for Lloyd, so hopefully she and her fellow Samurai would join them rather sooner than later.

His teammates (except maybe for Zane) sure would never agree, and Jay absolutely hated to admit it, but if those images from the Falcon were anything to go by, the Ninja could use all the all the help they could only get, even if it was from the Samurai. Or maybe especially from them, as the five girls admittedly were incredibly strong and skilled fighters.

On the other hand, Kai surely was going to kill the blue Ninja, should he ever find out that Jay knowingly had put his little sister in danger...

And, thanks to the lack of sleep, the red Ninja was already in an even worse mood now than he had been before.

During their nightly journey across the vast desert, Jay had been able to at least get a little bit of sleep, having put his Storm Glider on autopilot as long as they were still in safe distance from the Serpentine settlement, but that was certainly not a suitable option while riding on the Blade Cycle.

But regardless of whether the Samurai would turn up or not, Jay had to focus on the mission ahead.

The data from the drone had shown that the Serpentine had demolished most of the ghost town, leaving only the walls of some of the outer houses to make Oroborous appear like a regular abandoned settlement. Only from above, an ancient looking fighting arena could be seen right in the centre of the town. And as of last night, its stands were packed with Serpentine impatiently waiting for some kind of show.

Hopefully, this event had nothing to do with Lloyd, who was trapped inside a metal cage hanging from the mouth of one of the giant snake statues.

"Approaching Oroborous." Zane's voice came over the communicator, interrupting Jay's thoughts.

"We should probably dispel of our elemental vehicles now and walk the rest of the way." Cole, the team's leader suggested. "They might attract too much attention."

Jay descended before he transformed his jet back into the golden Nunchucks – dispelling the lightning blue vehicle mid-air was a mistake he had involuntarily made once during his first flight and was not keen on repeating ever again – and the four Ninja approached the so-called Lost City on foot, hoping not to get spotted by the Serpentine. But unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about that. Even for the sneakiest of Ninja, there was simply no opportunity to 'travel in shadows' in an empty desert.

But luckily, they had arrived just before the break of dawn, and the darkness of the night certainly helped them reach the gates of Ouroboros undetected.

Two Fangpyre were patrolling in front of the entrance to the ghost town, but luckily for the Ninja, the tired looking red Serpentine were too distracted by what was going on inside the arena to also pay attention to what was to happen above them.

"Looks like we'll be well able to catch up on our training." Cole remarked excitedly. As their search for Lloyd had been their main priority, yesterday's training session had been cut rather short, much to the black Ninja's dismay. "Last one up has to do the dishes for the rest of the week."

"Easy for you to say." Jay sighed, looking up the way too smooth wall. Climbing was not one of the blue Ninja's strengths.

"Yeah, not everyone here is an earthworm who can just crawl up the wall." Kai agreed, and the Master of Lightning chuckled. "Have you ever noticed his eyebrows look like caterpillars? Do you think if I grew mine like them, I'd be able to climb as well as Cole too?"

"I bet you babyface couldn't even grow a beard..." The Master of Fire retorted.

"Is that a dare?" Jay smirked, rubbing his slightly stubbly chin. "I'm thinking about a goatee, I'm sure Nya would love that."

"You better keep my sister out of this." Kai warned him.

"You both better keep your mouths shut." Cole harshly interrupted the friends' banter. "If you want to look like a pirate, that's fine by me. But if you want to get better at climbing, you'd better start working on these." The Master of Earth flexed his biceps.

"Climbing is actually not about brute arm strength." Zane interjected. "A good technique, like proper footwork, is a lot more important."

"Yeah, whatever." Cole wasn't impressed with the Nindroid's advice. "But discussing this matter will definitely not get us up there. I'll see you at the top."

"I sometimes wish Cole also had a humour switch like Zane, he's taking everything way too serious." Jay complained about his best friend.

But his mood significantly improved when Cole, who had already reached the top of the wall, threw them a rope. "What are you waiting for, ladies?" The black Ninja asked.

Jay would have facepalmed, had he not needed both hands to climb up the robe. "I'm taking it back, Cole trying to be funny is even worse..." He groaned.

Using the high vantage point, the four Ninja took in the display in front of them.

The sun had just started to rise over the desert – admittedly an impressive view from here.

On the far side of the colosseum, Lloyd was curled up in his cage, trying, or maybe just pretending, to sleep, with his eyes pressed closed and his hands over his ears. In the sand arena below, Pythor was pompously strutting back and forth, presenting his staff and apparently giving a speech to the cheering crowd.

"Can you hear what he's saying?" Cole whispered.

"All the Serpentine tribes have sworn their allegiance to him, this ancient ceremony must have taken them all night. And now he has promised them vengeance against the people of Ninjago in the long run, as well as a Slither Pit to take place right now." Zane answered.

"Slither Pit? What's that?" Jay enquired.

"It means a fierce fight between two or more opponents." The Nindroid explained. "It is a typical way for Serpentine to settle a dispute, for example about leadership, but it is also a rather popular form of entertainment. And it seems that, to mark this special occasion, there is some kind of 'main event' to come, as reward for their loyalty and patience."

"Do you think that 'main event' could be him?" Jay wondered, pointing at the cage holding their young friend.

"All the more reason to get Lloyd out of here." Kai claimed, drawing his sword. "This comes to an end today."

"Kai, wait." Cole called after him, but the red Ninja had already jumped down the wall and, keeping close to the outer wall of the colosseum, was now running around the stadium.

"What is it with that guy?" Jay questioned. "Always in a rush..."

"Yeah, but a Ninja never leaves another Ninja behind." Cole reminded him. "Or in front." He added with a smirk.

"Your jokes are getting better, boulderbrain." Jay grinned as the three friends followed their fiery teammate. Or maybe I'm just tired enough to find them funny... He added in his thoughts.

Once reunited, the four Ninja managed to enter the stadium through the back entrance and, using the giant Serpentine statue as cover, even make it to the side of the arena.

"From here onwards, there's no point even trying to hide." Cole stated. "We simply have to rush in, save Lloyd, and get out again as fast as we can." He gave a stern look at the red Ninja. "No getting into a fight, understood?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Ninja-gooo." The four Elemental Masters whisper-yelled before they rushed into the arena. But just before they reached their younger friend, a second cage dropped from above, locking all of them inside, to the thundering applause by the Serpentine.

Disturbed by all the commotion, Lloyd jumped up in his cage. "The Ninja." He gasped.

"The Ninja indeed." Pythor laughed devilishly. "Looks like we've caught our main event."