Kai and Ember raced towards the bedraggled town, noting the increasing number of soldiers stationed at their outposts. The two of them hid behind stacks of hay and dirt mounds as they strained their ears to listen over passing conversations. Ugly chortles rang across the open fields and filled the young adventurer with uneasy callousness.

"…You hag, move your rear!" Round and monstrous, sweat rolled off the forehead of a snarling sergeant. He fisted his meaty hands, forcing the peasants into submission as they quivered at the thought of having themselves punished.

"You heard the man, get a move on!" spat his acquaintance. His jaw cracked as aggression built in his fierce eyes. Steam could have literally escaped from his nostrils when a lady—old and frail—attempted to place a hand on his shoulder. Her gesture was very kind to the normal eye, but she was desperate. Before the soldiers made any sudden movements to turn her away, she latched onto them and clawed at their armor.

"Please, sires, please!" begged the woman, her voice nearly reaching a wailing tone. "Spare us folk some grace, mercy, for we need it to help our young—!"

"OFF! OFF NOW, YOU LEECH!" roared the sergeant, striking a blow at the poor woman. A disturbing thud cleared the quiet chatters among the lined crowd. Her matted garments were soiled with dirt while others slowly aided her to her feet, most stricken with fear, others raging in silence.

Kai held his breath while he watched the scene unfold, sharing Ember's startled gaze.

"What in Ninjago's name…?" he bit, clenching his sore fists. "What's going on? How come there's a crowd?" His crimson dragon replied with a click of her beak and a brief shake of her wings. She directed her snout towards wooden crates parked on the sandy pathway, large enough to cramp at least five to seven people inside.

"We'd, uh… better get in before anyone notices us, yeah?" he suggested. He ran off to hide behind hay carts when Ember perched comfortably on his shoulder. He cringed at the loud noises of leaves crunching beneath his mottled boots, but luckily no one seemed to have noticed.

Ember leapt into the hay bale and latched onto Kai's hood as he pulled himself over the edge. His skin pricked at the straws poking at him all over, but he did his very best not to alert any soldiers near the gates, including the envoy at the front of the ride.

Thrashing her tail about beneath the hay, the crimson dragonet rumbled the beginnings of a fierce growl as her gaze latched on the town's guards.

"Yeah, I get it, Ember. I get it," Kai murmured. Then he gently nudged her side. "Wanna set something ablaze to distract 'em?"

There was definitely a brief twinkle of mischief in her eyes, especially when her ears twitched at the thunderous noises of nearby Earth Dragons' pounding and roaring.

However, before she could take that option into consideration, the cart made a sudden jolt that nearly flipped the wooden cart on its side. The haystacks smashed into the two, completely knocking the wind out of them.

"What the hell was that?!" Kai coughed, making sure no one had heard him. Though, he didn't have much to worry about, since the commotion at the front gathered almost everyone's attention.

Ember squawked in surprise as she darted out of the straw piles, struggling to catch the wind beneath her wings.

"EMBER, STOP! GET BACK HERE!" he yowled, making chase. He tried to grab her in time, but she swerved from his fingers and hid in a cramped space.

The mule near the front kicked and pulled, trying its very best to escape the raging bloodlust of an unchained Water Dragon. Dark vapors and frothing bubbles emerged from its uneven scales, and it attempted to slither out of the tight restraints. Without having enough water offered to it for days, however, it couldn't produce an extra layer of natural oil to make its scales slippery.

The guards dug their heels in the dirt and pulled with almost inhuman force, jaws clenched in immense fury.

"PULL THE DAMN THING TO THE GROUND!"

A whip lashed at the creature, earning a pained whimper. More whips proceeded with their attacks, and it was only a matter of moments before hideous bruises littered its thinning body.

"CONTINUE THE ATTACKS! DO WHAT YOU NEED TO AND BRING THIS BEAST INTO SUBMISSION!"

The scene made Kai feel sick to the very pit of his stomach. He wanted to retch from where he was standing, but oh, what he wouldn't do to bash the soldiers' heads in.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted one man raise a blazing obsidian staff and prepared to press it on the Water Dragon's side. The sergeant shot him an incredulous look, as though examining him for any reason as to why he was waiting.

"DO IT, YOU MONGREL! DO IT!"

Quickly recovering from the savage bellowing, the soldier pierced the dragon's skin with the burning metal. It squirmed and wailed as the overpowering heat singed its side. The beast's natural element evaporated and made it uncomfortable all the more. Kai silently praised it when its tail forcibly knocked several men onto their backs, but his blood ran cold when more ran in, strapped it down, and abused the poor thing without any traces of mercy.

Ember crawled out of her hiding spot and watched. Just watched with utter horror. This wasn't something a dragonet should ever see.

The young adult flared with erupting rage, and he braced himself. Braced himself for what, he wasn't aware of in the moment, but there was no way in hell he would go on with this.

A fierce snarl broke into the commotion, and he suddenly leapt into action. Anyone would agree that it was absolutely idiotic of him to put himself in imminent danger like that, but he didn't give a care about his life. He felt the strongest urge to save that Water Dragon from the real beasts.

He barged into the guard with the obsidian staff, and it fell to the ground; not without a sizzling pain that tore at his flesh near his spine. Screaming with undulated agony, he dropped to his knees and held his quivering hand several inches from his back. He wouldn't dare touch the wound, but he desperately needed someone to mend it. Fast.

"What the—what in the cursed name of the devil are you doing here?!" spat the assaulter, twitching his brow as he contemplated what had just occurred. Kai's only response, however, was sucking his breath through his teeth and trying his best to remain conscious for as long as possible.

The few who were unoccupied ran forward and checked on him. Kai screeched as one seized his arm and caused another to directly touch his injury.

A looming shadow consumed the young man as the elongated neck of the Water Dragon forced its weight to one side. Kai's act unfortunately caused the serpent to strain in severe panic, and it was only a matter of time before webbed feet would crush his bones. It screamed a ghastly call and stretched its maw, the forked tongue coating its pin-tipped teeth with scorching saliva.

Without sparing a second, Ember shot through the air like a javelin and wrenched its horn to one side, snapping and clawing at whatever spot she could reach. Both dragons whirled in on one another—even the guards stood motionless before jumping into action several moments afterward—but the dragonet's size was nothing compared to the adult.

Just like the whip, the Water Dragon smashed its tail on Ember's wing with strength very close to an Earth Dragon's. It made Kai's stomach roil.

His ears rang with every noise combining into one immense headache. The untamed dragon was nearing its getaway, the crowd dispersed in a wide panic, soldiers from their stations used all their power… it was all too much!

Then that same lady quickly knelt beside Kai and gently placed his companion next to him. She quietly hushed the both of them when they squirmed, but she also seemed to have been trying to calm herself.

"Oh, no… your cloak…" she said, carefully examining his side. "And the burn! Dear me, it's… I can't look, but I believe it's only a first-degree burn."

"Argh…" He forced his own voice to form some sort of thanks, but the elder didn't need to hear anything else. "Is E-Ember okay…?"

"I'm no medical expert, but from the sound of that strike, I fear that she may have a broken rib—"

Frozen with fear, he replayed her words. "She's what?! No! W-why was she attacked?"

He coughed into the ground, and they suddenly realized the grand danger they were in. The woman aided him to his feet and scooped Ember in her other arm. They made haste to the safety of identical houses and deserted vendor stands.

"She tried to protect you, see. That beast was mere moments from ripping you to shreds!" A shiver crossed her body just from thinking about the outcome. "The bond between you two… I'll admit, I've never seen anything like it—"

One last roar echoed across the town before the commands of at least nine or ten soldiers silenced its final struggles. Kai's heart raced.

"Is it… is it—?"

Before he could confirm his prediction, a carriage supporting a large cage passed the alleyway they were hiding in. That could only mean they had finally weakened the Water Dragon to the point where they could force it in.

"I don't believe anyone would actually kill off one of these creatures. We live alongside each other and have been for decades—that one in particular wasn't under control at all." Her face creased all while forming a revolted expression. "As much as I loathe them and their unnerving strategies, they had to do it for precautionary measures in order to ensure the safety of others."

Kai spat in the dirt.

"Ensuring safety?" he repeated angrily. "Those prison-keeps don't give a damn about us, that much is already obvious…"

He turned over to adjust his position from the increasing pain. The searing discomfort desperately required attention, stat.

As though intertwining equal awareness, Ember squirmed and whined as she slightly lifted a wing. The woman's face faltered.

"Oh, my…"

"I gotta get home, I gotta get home now!" he breathed. Once more, he was hoisted to his feet and carefully lifted his friend within his arms. She tensed at the rapid movement, but Kai's fingers brushing against her scales helped put her at ease.

He thanked the kind lady and promised to repay in any way he could with time. Instead, she brushed him off and urged him to head home before anyone noticed, especially the Lord Commanders.

Most of the trail included brief breaks and constant limping, but he forced his energy into pushing through the wooden door when he approached the familiar building. He swore under his breath when he nearly tripped over the unorganized mess littered across the carpet, but his priority was finding anything that would help with her bruise.

His breathing quickened. "Where is everything…? What do I do, Ember? How do I know if you've got a broken rib?" he asked, mostly to himself and his spiraling mind. "Uh… ice! Maybe ice will do something! Hang on…"

He crouched in an awkward position—trying his very best to ignore the agony of the burn—and scoured for saved ice packs in the darkened room. He eventually reached something dripping wet and grabbed it immediately.

"This! This might do…" He glanced at Ember, still heavily injured but somewhat conscious and glaring at him from the side. "Look, I know you hate wet things, but this is the best I've got so far!" He approached her, reaching for light bandages on the way. "Please, this isn't… there's no way I'm risking you again."

His tone made a very clear implication that he was final, and Ember made no protests when she realized her condition worsened by the second. And with that out of the way, he quickly wrapped the pack near the underside of her wing, being extra cautious not to leave it on top of the wound.

When he was finished, she, in turn, grumbled at him. She hadn't forgotten about his burn mark. Admittedly, the pain hurt like nothing else he had ever experienced. Pained screams were just about ready to erupt from his mouth, but he would deal with himself later on.

"I know, I know! I've got myself covered, but are you sure you're alright?" he asked her. He could see his fingers trembling, so he grabbed one wrist to stop. No use.

The door suddenly opened with a bang so loud, Kai wouldn't believe he didn't jump out of his skin.

"OH, GOD—"

Standing at the doorframe was none other than his father, face dripping with sweat and contorted with fury. He adjusted his slanted armor while clenched his fists so tightly, Kai could see his strained muscles from underneath the cloth. He swallowed hard, hiding the choked cough that threatened to release.

"Oh! Heeeey, Dad…"