Kai stood watching as Jay, Zane and Cole trained their bodies, performing twists and flips as they struck the training dummies. As Wu opens to door to see, Kai turns and smirks at him.
"They're improving." He notes, pride visible on his face.
"How long have they been doing this?" Wu questions.
"It's been almost three hours. You were deep in meditation." Kai explains. Before anything else can be said, however, Zane leaps up, and passes in between Jay and his training, then moves to Cole, taking the Scythe from his hands and bisecting a training dummy, before tossing the Scythe back. The familiar ice vortex then covers him and the dojo begins to freeze over, forcing everyone else to stop, and move over to Kai and Wu. Kai simply sighs, as Zane moves to another activity, manifesting his powers to turn the ice to water, then vapor, doing what the sun would do in mere seconds, rather than hours, before returning to the others.
"Sensei, Zane's… weird." Jay states.
"What is weird? Someone that is different? Or… someone that is different than you?" Wu asks.
"Mechanical. The word he's looking for, is mechanical."
"No, Sensei. He's… weird, weird. It's like he doesn't understand certain aspects of life and socialization." Cole explains further, with both him and Jay shuddering at some kind of memory.
"No, that's Autism. Though a fitting description, not the answer."
'Can you shut up, please?' Kai asks in frustration.
"We like the guy, he's really smart. It's just..." Cole furthers, looking to Zane as he bows to a training dummy, only to get hit on the head for a response. "He's a little off, sometimes."
"Zane is a brother, and brothers are often different. I should know." Wu warns. His words seem to hit a chord in the others, as they look at each other in understanding, knowing exactly what he meant.
The gong rings, as the mailman arrives for the week, with Jay and Cole rushing to the door for their mail, while Kai simply watches with faint amusement, before glancing at Zane, who seems to be rather depressed, at once again having nothing for himself. Jay receives a letter from his parents, and Cole receives one from his father, along with a package for his dragon.
"Hey, Zane. How come you never hear anything from your parents?" Jay asks, having also noticed the lack of letter, from today, or any other week previous.
"I… Don't remember my parents." Zane explains. "I've been an orphan all of my life."
"You've never had a home…" Kai states in sorrow. Zane shakes his head in agreement.
"The monastery is your home now." Wu assures, but Zane just heads back to his room.
That night, during dinner, as the others continue to throw food at each other, food made by Zane for everyone to eat and enjoy, Kai steps back and away, watching as Zane still seems depressed, especially after the others had made fun of his apron. Once everything is done, and the small amount of food left is eaten, Zane goes to take out the rubbish, with Kai following behind, unnoticed.
As Zane gazes towards the stars, a falcon's call catches his attention, as well as Kai's. Zane tilts his head in curiosity, the falcon imitating his movement. When Zane flaps his arms, the falcon flaps his wings. The beautiful bird then seems to move in a way to asks for Zane to follow, before it flies off. Zane hesitates, before Kai calls to him.
"Follow him." Zane turns to Kai, who has a knowing, gentle smile on his face. "That bird called for you, and you alone. Let him show you what it believes you need to see. I'll keep the others occupied until you return." Zane smiles, nodding his thanks, before he rushes off to follow the falcon.
Kai watches as Zane runs down the hundreds of stairs, before walking back inside and finding the others still laughing and enjoying their time. With a sorrowful smile, he leaves them to their rest and fun. Kai heads to bed, finding sleep an easy companion, though dreams and nightmares would continue to plague him as always.
Kai awakes at his usual 5:00am mark. The other two Ninja are still asleep, their alarm set for 6:00am. Kai goes outside the Monastery, watching a few Cockatrice's, in chicken form, roam about, looking for prey they could hunt. A future idea forming in his mind, Kai begins to head back inside, intent on looking for a carry cage, when Zane suddenly appears.
"Kai!" He calls out. "I know where Lloyd and the Hypnobrai are!" His words have Kai dragging the ninja into their room, where he immediately wakes the others up. As they get ready, Kai quickly heads to the kitchen, grabbing the antivenom from the staff and making a few vials of antidote, in case anyone gets hypnotized. As he makes his way back to the others, he bumps into Wu.
"What's the rush?" He asks.
"Zane found where Lloyd and the Hypnobrai are hiding. We're going to go check it out." Kai answers. "With us out, it would be best for you and Nya to stay here and defend the monastery. If the Serpentine get a chance-"
"They'll come after the Staff." Wu finishes. "Go. Bring me back my nephew if you can." Kai nods, and rushes back to the others.
"Everyone ready? Good, let's go!" Kai doesn't let them answer, leading them out, and taking them into the Wildwood Forest. Ducking and weaving through the bushes surrounding the massive trees native to the area, Kai soon finds the treehouse fortress, the others stopping beside him, all of them taking cover by a nearby bush as the scout the structure. Kai also noticed that Zane was happier and more energized today, even after getting no sleep.
"So, tell us again how you found Lloyd's secret base?" Jay asks out of nowhere.
"I followed a bird." Zane answers easily. Jay moved to ask another question, but Kai puts a hand over his already 'covered' mouth before he can, gesturing for him to shut up.
"We can't let Lloyd give the snakes a foothold in Ninjago. He doesn't realize that his so called 'control' over them won't last forever." Kai explains.
"See those three trees?" Zane questions. "It seems that they support the whole structure. Cut those ties, and the whole thing will collapse."
"It'll fall like a house of cards." Cole adds with a light chuckle.
"But why would one make a house of cards?" Zane asks. "Such construction would be careless."
"It's something people do for a challenge. They don't make it a full size house either." Kai chuckles, imagining an actual house made entirely of cards. "But you are right. Such a thing wouldn't work out." He then turns serious once more. "Well, I guess we've got our action plan. Everyone get in position." Everyone moves towards the tree supports, climbing them to reach the building and ties. Jay takes the first one apart, the energy of his vortex tearing through the rope, the end catching fire momentarily, before Kai swiftly smothers it with his power. Kai then climbs the tree support Zane aims for, and leaps onto the treehouse, searching for Lloyd from the roof.. Zane takes the second one, his shurikens piercing the thick rope with ease, more so than what a normal shuriken would do.
With their tasks done, the two rejoin Kai, who shook his head in exasperation at the fact they came to him onto the building that was collapsing, rather than get out of the area. "Cole! Wait till everyone is clear, then cut the line!" Kai calls, only for Cole to seemingly ignore his order, moving onto the collapsing building, his Scythe in hand and ready to attack.
"That doesn't look good." Jay comments, earning a glare from Kai in response.
"He's under their control." Zane states.
"Then that leaves me out of the equation for stopping him. I can't trust my powers to not harm him and my training has been focused on lethality. We can only hope that he can fight against it, or that he can be kept still long enough for me to force this down his throat." Kai explains, holding a vial of antivenom tea in his hand.
"When did you get that?" Jay asks, dodging a swipe for his legs.
"I made it this morning when you lot were getting ready. I figured one of us might be unlucky and get hypnotized. So I made sure we had a cure." Kai answers, rolling to the side of a downward slash. The treehouse's weight, along with that of the Ninja and a few trapped Serpentine, was beginning to break the final support rope, and Cole was blocking the only way out.
"Come on, brother. Snap out of it." Zane tries to break him out of his funk with his voice, but is unsuccessful, as the Ninja of Earth pushes them all to the edge. Kai's eyes begin to darken, slowly turning into two orbs of void darkness, when a flute can be heard. A tune similar to what snake charmers, from what Vex has explained, would use to give the illusion of charmed snakes. Cole stop, and his eyes begin to return to normal, the dull colouration returning to a healthy, vibrant and damp look. Kai releases the power, his own eyes returning to normal. He swiftly reaches Cole, and pours the antivenom tea down his throat, Cole spluttering slightly before letting it go down his gullet. Cole shakes his head, his eyes fully returning to normal, as he looks around confused. Up above, Wu and Nya are atop Ash, riding over them. The four Ninja leap onto Ash, who has difficulty at the start, bearing all their weight, before adjusting to it.
"What is that flute? It canceled their powers!" Jay asks.
"It's as old as the Serpentine themselves. But we must hurry! The monastery is unguarded!" Wu answers, and Kai gives Ash a gesture to fly as fast as she can, though it ends up being no use, the Monastery already in flames by the time they get back. Nothing stood standing, and the dragon pens were aflame, Cole rushing to free the other three dragons, dodging the Serpentine corpses that had once tried to finish the majestic creatures off.
"We're too late." Kai notes morosely.
"Shard! Put this out!" Zane orders, to which his dragon obliges, the frosty breath removing the fires that had destroyed their home.
"They took their staff back." Wu states. Cole's fists clench, and he rushes to Zane, pinning him against a crumbling support beam.
"If you hadn't followed that silly bird, none of this would have happened!" Cole accuses, rage blinding him after the loss of a home. Jay steps forth as well.
"No, he's right. Because of you, our home is gone!" Jay exclaims, tears in his eyes. Cole then pulls back his fist, and moves to punch his brother, but Kai steps in, his fire coated hand grabbing the enraged ninja's fist, before he twists it at an angle, causing pain for Cole, before kicking him away.
"I was the one who assured him that he should follow the bird. Do not take out your anger on your brother!" Kai shouts, his irises darkening into a crimson shade. He has one hand behind his back as he glares at Cole, who begins to back down, doubt crossing his features, alongside guilt. Jay looks at them, not willing to pick a side, while Nya watches with worry. Wu simply moves between the two.
"ENOUGH!" Wu yells, his voice carrying throughout the mountain. Everyone turns their attention to him. "We are all at fault. Zane is your brother. Apologize at once." As the three ninja turn around, their apologies on the tips of their tongues, they find Zane, as well as Shard, gone.
"What are we eating again?" Kai asks, a cooked creature, courtesy of his powers, sitting on a roasting stick in his hands. The small campfire before them offering little warmth for their location. Night had begun to fall, and within the monastery's ruins, they had camped out, nowhere else to go, with the Shop not big enough to fit everyone.
"Mud-neut. Not bad, for something that lives underground." Cole answers in between chewing his own.
"I've had it before. If cooked right, it really isn't bad, but that involved herbs and spices. So it might be rather dry and leathery on it's own." Vex notes, though his comment is rather unhelpful and useless without said herbs and spices available. Kai shrugs, before taking a bite out of the meagre, poorly cooked meal. Jay spits his bite out, and throws a rock into a can a dozen meters away.
"N-new h-h-high s-score." He shivers, the biting cold eating through him, his Ninja Gi unequipped to deal with such temperatures. Kai was fine, his element giving him a high tolerance to cold weather, his body able to stay heated in most weather. He then gave Jay a bit of warmth from his power, the Ninja of Lightning looking to him in gratitude. Cole was shaking, the cold affecting him, just not as badly as it was Jay. Kai refused to use his fire to warm him, stating it was his form of punishment. Nya was leaning against Kai, his body warmth keeping her happy.
"Remember, we must be thankful for what we have." Wu instructs, the cold not bothering him in the slightest.
"What do we have? Our home is gone. Hells, Zane is gone." Cole replies solemnly.
"Yeah. I miss Zane too." Jay agrees.
"Zane?" Nya questions, though not looking at any of the group, but something just beyond.
"Yeah, Zane. You know? The white Ninja? The smart yet strange one?" Jay retorts.
"No, she means; Zane is back." Kai shakes his head, pointing to his right, exactly where Zane and Shard arrive. Everyone rushes to him, with Cole immediately speaking first.
"Zane, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said." Cole begins.
"Me too. It's not your fault. It's the Serpentine's fault." Jay adds.
"You don't need to apologize." Zane assures.
"But what about all the nasty things we said? Isn't that why you left?" Jay questions.
"No. Kai signed to me that you guys needed time to cool off, so I gave you space. Then I saw the falcon again and followed him." Zane explains. Cole glare sat Kai, who smiles innocently in return.
"Hey, I'll bet that the falcon was on it's way to Zane anyway. Whether I told him to give you space or not would have made no difference." Kai argues for himself, before looking back to Zane. "So, what did he show you, brother?"
"Something that might help our current living arrangements." Zane answers, jumping onto Shard, as the rest of us follow, with Nya riding with Jay, and Wu, riding with Kai. "Not to mention" He calls back. "It was my turn to make dinner again!"
As the Ninja, Nya, and Wu ate the banquet that Zane had made, Kai signs for the Ninja of Ice to follow him outside, where the falcon stood watching.
"He's an amazing creature, Zane." Kai states.
"He is. I feel a strange connection to him as well. I believe he is trying to show us the path forward." Zane explains.
"That's why I told you to follow him. I could see the connection between you." Kai admits with a smile.
"You could see it? What do you mean?" Zane questions.
"I have a sixth sense as well, Zane. But mine is not based on prediction, or visions, or foresight. I can see the energy of everything. The best analogy I could make, is saying that everyone else sees the world in monochrome, while I see it in colour. There are some things, people, creatures and otherwise, that resonate with something else. You and the Falcon are one, while Nya and Jay are another." Kai elaborates.
"Does anyone else know of this?" Zane asks in curiosity.
"Nya does, but she's my sister, and has something similar. She can see how things work together, similar to how i see connections. It helps her with making mechanical creations. Plus, she does know quite a few of my tricks." Kai half lies. Nya did know a lot of tricks, but in no way was it a majority of those he knew.
"Is this something you want the others to know?" Zane wonders aloud.
"It is not a power that will save their lives. Not something they should try to rely on either. So no. I don't think they need to know." Kai answers.
"I understand." Zane hums, a smile adorning his features. Kai places a hand on his shoulder, chuckling lightly.
"We should return before everything has been eaten." Kai notes, leading him back to their new home, the beautiful old Pirate Ship that was more than ready to be made to sail again.