I don't own Lego or Ninjago

Chapter 26

Zane's POV

I have to admit that watching Tara holding her arm in the air and flailing around had many amusing qualities. The fact she was getting hurt by the fire was not one of them. An overwhelming desire to save her came to my senses as I felt a tremendous amount of new energy and adrenaline begin to pump through my veins. I looked down at my hands and noticed they had started to turn translucent a have a glow-like quality to them. I listened to my feet pound against the ground as I sprinted towards Tara. I clamped one arm down on her shoulder and the other on her forearm that was in the air. I then twisted her around and held her burning hand out in front of me. I took a deep intake of warm, volcanic air and then blew on her hand. The expelled air came out at a frozen temperature. I watched the water vapor, what little that there was, freeze and solidify together into one block of ice surrounding her hand. The fire was gone. However, through the ice I could detect the severity of the damage by the blackened, charred mess that used to be a hand that lay underneath. Tara was staring at me. I gave a small smile, hoping she would appreciate that I solved her problems. She spoke to me in an irritated voice.

"Zane," she said slowly an in a surprisingly calm manner, "have you ever heard of an exploding tree?" I shook my head no; I could not find the term "exploding tree" in any of my memories or search processors.

"The ice on me is freezing the sap underneath as we speak. When sap freezes, it expands; a gunshot sound is created as the bark contracts and sap expands. You," she gazed at me sadly, "caused me to lose my hand." A large popping sound resonated throughout the area, like the removal of a cork top from a glass bottle. The immediate sound following sounded like the rut-tut-tutting of a machine gun firing. The ice began to divide, shattering into fragments that flung towards our approaching enemies as deadly shards. Along with the ice, I saw fragments of splintering wood flying by. Tara's mouth was open in a silent scream as she cradled he arm, now severed at the wrist. My mouth went dry as I tried to formulate words to express my regret.

"Well, there goes a perfectly good hand. They don't make them like they used to," were her first words she said when she was capable of speaking.

I stood there with my mouth opening and closing like a blowfish before I managed stutter, "-I'm sorry..." Her eyes narrowed instantly.

"Never say sorry for something you meant to do," she told me. Tara stared down at her stub of a hand and turned the jagged wood around, inspecting it. I stared at my feet, flustered and unsure of what to do.

"No! I am sorry!" I shouted as Tara looked at me in mild surprise, "I didn't want you to get hurt! I did not want this to happen... I made a mistake..." She stood up and walked over to me. I felt her breath on my face. She patted me on the head.

"Everyone makes mistakes. However, out of all the mistakes I've made, I think you're my favorite... In addition, I specialize in growing plants. Did you seriously think I wouldn't be able to fix this?" she questioned.

"Hello?" Jay called to us, "As much as this is touching and all... we sort of have tons of serpentine trying to EAT OUR HEADS OFF!" I looked below the ledge our whole group had originally been on to find everyone working hard, except Tara and me. She blew at a curl annoyingly placed in the middle of her forehead and sighed.

"Guess that hand will have to wait," she muttered. "Shall we?"

I bowed, "After you."

Tara's POV

My hand still had a stinging sensation and sap was still rushing out of the wound, but I would be fine. I leapt downwards and landed on a rock as lava spurted dangerously close to me. I couldn't be more out of my element. I fought purely by fist, and I wasn't doing to swell only being able to use one and the "no golden weapons rule". That is why I was filling many mixed emotions when Kai brought out his sword to fend off the serpentine. The main emotion was that I wanted to strangle him. I was fighting with one hand, therefore he could do just as well with two. A rumble of the volcano caused the ground to shake, forcing me to the ground. I heard Nya talking over the falcon. Something about danger and instability. All I knew was it was Kai's fault. As the serpentine were making a hasty retreat, they dropped Lloyd. Cole and Zane were arguing over something, Kai was trying to play hero and rescue the Fang Blade, and Lord Garmadon was trying to rescue his son. I noticed the lava had almost engulfed my platform and I quickly leapt to higher ground. When I reached Sensei Wu, I saw Lloyd looking down at me, offering a hand up. I looked everywhere, mystified how Lord Garmadon was able to work so quickly. Once I had been pulled up, the ground began to crumble beneath us, unable to support the new added weight. I quickly leapt back, crashing into Cole. Lloyd, on the other hand, had no such luck. I watched him plummet into the lava and reached forward to try and save him, but a pair of hands attached to my waist at the last second before I toppled in after Lloyd. I looked helplessly between Lloyd and Kai. Lloyd was about to be encapsulated by Lava and killed, and Kai was busy trying to dislodge his golden sword that he got wedged into the side of the volcano in the process of saving the Fang Blade. I heard a whirling sound and yelped as a hand yanked my back by the hem of my shirt. I stared in amazement at the two-ton rock that now held the place I had originally been.

"Thanks," I breathed to whoever saved me. I got no response; instead, I got a shove on the back and was forced into a jog.

"Come on, Tara!" Cole yelled behind me, "Let's go!" I noticed how he wasn't passing me. I skidded to a halt.

"Then if you're in such a rush, lead the way!" I told him. He scowled and gave me a death stare. He stopped and quickly jumped as high as he could before slamming his feet into the ground.

"Earth!" he called out his element as a wave of rock began hurling toward me. It began to grow into a tsunami. I began to sprint like hell.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh!" I panted as I tried to avoid the looming monstrosity closing in behind me. I felt a gentle thud on my back. I was riding the earth tsunami. Cole was lying peacefully next to me, grinning. Soon we were joined by Lord Garmadon, Jay, Zane, and Sensei Wu.

"What was that for?!" I demanded. He looked over at me and his coal-like eyes laughed.

"Think of it as motivation," he chuckled. Note to self: When Cole tells you to run, you RUN.

The tsunami died down when we safely reached outside. As the last one of us climbed on board, I looked at the volcano solemnly. Nya was on the brink of tears when she didn't see Kai climb aboard. Everyone was mute, not wanting to admit the obvious. Kai and Lloyd were dead. Nya started the ship and circled the volcano a few times before departing. In the distance, I saw a splurge of lava come from the top of the volcano. I sighed. I guess that was that. One of the specks of lava was coming closer and increasing in size. When I could begin to make out the form of the lava, I gasped.

"It's Kai!" I pointed into the sky. Everyone turned, expecting it to be some sick joke. Each face lit up when they discovered the truth.

"Kai's full potential" Jay breathed. Kai landed on the ship's deck and set Lloyd down. Everyone crowded around and began congratulating him. I hung back, staring at the sky on the opposing side of the ship. A few moments passed and I felt a presence by me.

"So, no 'I'm happy you're not dead' pat on the back?" he asked me. I looked over at him, noticed how his eyes showed how much pride he had in himself. I whacked him in the arm with my good fist.

"We all thought you were dead, idiot. Don't ever do that again," I threatened as he rubbed his arm.

"What was the punch for?" he asked accusingly.

"I heard it was how some siblings show affection," I told him. I felt a fist collide into my arm roughly. I looked at him. We both grinned.

Soo, bad feedback last chappie... Hope you like this chappie. R&R plz. I had to re-do it because of power outages...