"So it's just us three?" Jay asked loudly as they jumped through the trees.

"Well, Lloyd isn't even here," Kai started, jumping over Cole and landing in an overhead branch, "And Sensei needed Zane for something, but even when I did ask him to come he said that what we're doing is 'wrong."

"Whatever," Cole shrugged it off, dropping to the ground once he saw the Monastery sneak into his line of sight, "Down here, guys!"

Even though it was close to quarter past seven and the day had brightened considerably in the amount of natural light, it was still severely foggy, thusly causing Jay to face-plant into a thorn bush when he overshot his target, "Owwww!!!"

"Jay," Kai snapped in a whisper, "Shh!"

The Master of Lightning stood and pulled a thorn from his neck, "You fall from a tree and land in a thorn bush and not complain about it!"

"Sorry, I wouldn't want to steal your thunder," Kai snickered, dodging Jay's attack and hiding behind Cole.

"Guys, behave and keep your eyes peeled," Cole chided, pulling free his Scythe and pushing into the grounds, "Come on!"

Luckily for them there was no one in sight to head of their attack until they got to the stone driveway where there were few people that they recognized, like Shadow and Toxikita, two of the Masters that dislike our team.

"Especially since you wrongly accused Shadow of being a spy for Chen," Neuro's voice made the three jump a foot, "Because Kai was blinded by puppy love."

"Cole," Jay whispered, "We've been spotted."

Cole smacked the back of Jay's head, "I see that!"

Jay groaned wordlessly, but it was drowned out by Kai, "That was sheer coincidence! I had no idea that she was Chen's daughter!"

"No one did!" Cole smacked Kai this time, "But you didn't have to be, as Neuro put it, blinded by puppy love! Your relationship lasted, like, a month and a half!"

"Her father tried to kill me!" Kai yelled, flailing his arms, "That's why it didn't work out!"

Cole was about to object but was cut off by Jay, "Okay, enough. Shut it and let's find the one we came here for."

"Jade is not here," Neuro stated flatly, "She left with Lar and Ash to go to the City about a half hour ago."

Kai's teeth gritted, "Why?"

"Oh," Neuro's eyebrows perked up, "So I was wrong. Entirely too wrong. It is not his best friend who Lar has to worry about, but indeed his worst enemy."

"What?" Jay asked, clearly confused.

"Kai is overly-intrigued with Jade."

"Enough about what's inside my head," Kai snapped, "When is Jade going to get back?!"

"When?!" Cole echoed.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Griffin Turner challenged from at Cole's elbow, "Why so eager, Rocky-Boy?"

Cole grumbled at the overused nickname Griffin had given him, "She has something of ours."

"So you intend to kidnap her?" Neuro glared, tensing up.

"More or less, yeah," Jay shrugged, "Why would you care?"

"Because we do!" Griffin's stance went from leisurely to coiled in a second, "No kidnapping anytime this morning, pal. I think it best if you leave."

"Not without what we came for," Cole steadied himself to spring, sensing a fight and preparing for it.

His senses never failed him, but indeed it was not who he thought that attacked, and it wasn't even Cole who was kicked. It was the Master of Amber that had attacked first, sending Kai flying into the nearby bushes. This was the start of a two-sided fight that was entirely too unevenly matched: the odds were three against eleven, something even the Ninja couldn't handle.

But they did their best, refusing to back down. Kai was faced against Skylor and Camille, a dynamic duo that no one wanted to face, "C'mon Spark," Skylor sneered, distracting him to allow Camille the time to sneak behind him, "Afraid to hit a girl?"

"No," he snapped, gaining power for his strike that never came, for the Master of Form had jumped on him, pinning him to the uneven cobblestones, "Let me go!"

"I don't think so," Camille chided, brushing some purple hair from her eyes, "Your kind was banned from Chen's Palace, remember?"

Suddenly Camille was flung to the side by a flash of blue, an angry Jay standing over her, "Like you're a saint! You tried to kill Lloyd! Stuff a sock in it and leave us alone."

Kai had no time to warn Jay about Skylor, and was forced to watch in horror as she used Jay's lightning ability against him, "Jay!"

A wall of jagged rocks suddenly shot up from the ground, blocking Jay and Kai from the other Elemental Masters. Cole and Kai ran up to Jay's collapsed figure laying in a heap on the ground, "Jay?! Jay! Wake up! Don't leave us!" Cole shrieked, pulling Jay into his lap.

"Cole, we can't hold them off with only two of us," Kai called, trying to fend off the advancing Masters, "It's like an apocalypse!"

"Wait!" Cole jumped to his feet and held out his hands, "Why are you all trying to kill us anyway?! It's not like we wanted to come here!"

"Well then why did you?" Shadow sassed.

"There's a girl," Cole started, "Not from around here, I think... And-and she's got something that we need. But she won't give it to us willingly so-"

"So you want to kidnap her!" Griffin shouted accusingly, "We won't allow it. Jade has grown on some of us like family in the few hours she's been here. I don't know about the rest of us, but you'll have to go through me to get her."

"Me as well," Neuro stepped next to Griffin.

"And me," Mr. Pale had joined the group.

"And you're going to have to get her away from Lar and Ash before you can accomplish anything," Griffin sneered, "Good luck with that."

"Now leave," Skylor retorted from the back, cradling a badly burned shoulder (Courtesy of Kai), "Before Father finds out you're here and orders your deaths."

Kai looked up from where he'd gone to be by Jay and flared his nostrils in defeat, "Fine."

.

It was after they'd hurried back to The Bounty that Kai and Cole began freaking over Jay's incident with Skylor, "Sensei!"

It took about three seconds for the nimble old man to burst into the room, "What happened, Cole?" he asked frantically, "What happened to Jay?!"

Kai gulped and started to explain with a shaky voice, "The three of us went to Chen's monastery-"

"Chen is in NinjaGo?!" Sensei G's voice rang through the halls, signaling he and Lloyd had returned from hiding, and his light footsteps went heavy as he ran towards the medical room, "When did that happen? Have I not told you to stay away from him?"

Kai mentally slapped himself for sending the calm man into a panic, "You did tell us, but we have a job to do, and the completion of it led us to Chen's Palace. It was inevitable."

"How so?" Lloyd sauntered into the room and stood in the doorway.

"Jade." Cole stated, taking his eyes off where Nya and Wu were worrying over Jay, "She's got the fifth Techno-Blade and we've been led to believe she is hiding out with the other Elemental Masters."

"So you went to retrieve the Techno-Blade," Garmadon pinched the bridge of his nose, "Did you not stop to think that the others would protect the youngling like their own? They do not get attached to others easily, but under the correct circumstances, Jade could be considered family among at least three or four."

"That was learned the hard way," Kai hushed his voice and moved closer to Lloyd and Garmadon, "We tried to be nice about it, and Griffin and Neuro were... Difficult. Less difficult than Skylor was, though. She attacked me for no reason and that sparked a fight that was most likely fueled by old rivalries. Skylor... she-" he paused for a deep breath,"She blindsided Jay when Camille was distracting him an- and used his power against him."

"This is why I told you to stay away," Garmadon seemed too calm for the situation, "The entire bloodline of that family is tainted."

"Kai shut up," Cole held up his hand to stop Kai from speaking, "Back to the point, Garmadon, she's the reason we went there. Jade has her hooks pretty deep in a few people."

"Is she still there?" Lloyd asked, alerting his presence as some may have forgotten he was there.

"No, Neuro said she left for New NinjaGo City with Lar and Ash," Cole shook his head.

"Then let's go get her," Lloyd declared, "There's three of us and two of them to overpower. I can grab Jade while you two hold off Ash and Lar. Can't be that hard."

"No no," Garmadon turned on his son, "You must remain hidden. I will go, and you stay to help with Jay's recovery."

"May I join you in traveling to the City?" Zane poked his head around the corner.

"Of course! You don't need to ask, Zane," Kai ran towards the doorway of The Bounty and out onto the grass, "We have a snake to catch."

"Well what's gotten his spirits in a knot?" Cole chuckled, "Too happy for my taste. C'mon you tin can," he slung an arm around Zane shoulders and pulled him through the trees after Kai.