A/N: Takes place during "Ninjaball Run" from s2.

The Ninjaball Run race started out alright, even if Lloyd did struggle a bit with steering the dragon. He had only done it a couple times before this, so in hindsight, he probably should have never been allowed to ride the creature unsupervised, especially during a dangerous event like this.

Even if he did struggle though, everything was fine until the skeletons caught the dragon's leg, forcing it down. Lloyd's eyes widened as he realized what was happening, and before he knew it, he and the dragon were sent barreling towards the ground. And because they were so high up, he already knew that this would hurt.

Wind rushed by him. He let out a yell of alarm, but the wind was so loud that he couldn't even hear himself. Next thing he knew, his body slammed into the ground.

Well—that wasn't entirely true. Luckily, the dragon cushioned his fall. Otherwise, he probably would have gotten gravely injured, if not worse.

Even so, the landing harsh landing still wasn't kind to him.

A sudden rush of pain passed through his left arm, and Lloyd cried out. He glanced over at the appendage, and was horrified to see that it was bent at an unnatural angle. He had broken his arm in the fall.

It probably wasn't a super bad break, but it still hurt like crazy. A quiet whimper came from Lloyd's mouth. Tears were pooling up in his eyes. It hurt so badly that he couldn't even think straight. And on top of that, it was freezing out here in the birch forest!

And while he was laying here on top of the fallen dragon in terrible pain, the race was still going on. He doubted anyone even realized that he broke his arm. They all saw him fall, sure, but they—the audience and the other racers, including the ninja— probably all just assumed that he was okay. It would most likely be a while before anyone came to his rescue. He was all alone (aside from the skeletons who he doubted were paying any attention either).

All alone, just laying in agony.

Kai visibly winced when Lloyd and the ultra dragon got knocked out of the sky. That had to hurt, but the ninja's vehicle passed by so quickly that he didn't really have any time to see if Lloyd was okay or not. To be honest, right now, his mind was more focused on winning the race, and as far as he knew, the worst that had happened was just that Lloyd was now out of the race. That slimmed their chances of winning the prize money a bit, but that was alright. They could do this.

Still...Something in the pit of Kai's stomach felt uneasy as he, Jay, Cole, and Zane zoomed away.

Everyone in the audience gasped as they all witnessed Lloyd being forcefully taken out of the race. "Uh oh," the announcer said. "Looks like another racer was just taken out."

In the stands, Nya and Wu shared a worried glance with each other, before turning back to the giant screen in front of them. Lloyd wasn't moving. "Is he...okay?" Nya asked, concern in her tone.

"Do not worry. I'm sure Lloyd is fine, just stunned from the fall," Master Wu replied. But to be honest, he wasn't so sure. From the audience's point of view, they couldn't see his face. All they could see was Lloyd laying on his side. But then-after what felt like an eternity to Nya and Wu- he moved.

It wasn't much, just his head lifting up ever so slightly, but it was still something. At first, Wu thought that that meant the kid was alright, but then Lloyd curled into a sort of fetal position and hunched his shoulders. The camera finally panned around, and now everyone who was watching could clearly see the pained look on Lloyd's face. It looked like he was doing everything in his power not to cry, and he looked much paler than usual. It didn't take people long to figure out why. They soon noticed the unnatural angle the boy's arm was bent.

"And-what is this? It looks like the young dragon rider got hurt after all!" the announcer exclaimed as gasps filled the air.

Wu didn't hear anything the announcer said after that, and he doubted Nya did either, for that matter. The two just looked at each other again, worried expressions on their faces. Neither of them spoke, but it was clear that they were both very concerned for Lloyd. They had no way of getting over to the birch forest to rescue him, and the participants in the race wouldn't be collected until a winner was declared. And who knew how long it would be until that happened?

For now, Lloyd was on his own.

The race was won; the ninja now had the prize money to save Dareth's dojo. But when Kai and the other ninja approached Master Wu and Nya, neither one of them was smiling or cheering. Even Dareth looked crest-fallen, which he shouldn't have, considering they'd just won the money.

"Uh, guys? What's wrong, you know we did just win the race, right?" Cole asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Sorry, we know, it's just-" Master Wu started to say, but then Nya, in her nervous state, quickly cut Wu off.

"Lloyd got injured in his fall, and he's still out there!" she said, panic rising in her voice.

"What?! Is he okay? We have to go and get him!" Jay exclaimed loudly.

"I'll go," Kai offered, and before anyone could reply, he was already running off in the direction Lloyd was at.

When Kai finally came across Lloyd, the poor boy was shivering, both from the cold and from the pain, and his face was twisted in a pained expression. He was clutching onto his left arm and cradling it to his chest in what seemed like a desperate attempt to get the pain to stop. He was still laying on top of the ultra dragon, and the creature's wings were wrapped protectively around the green ninja.

"Lloyd!" Kai shouted, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the kid...No, at the sight of his little brother. Without a single moment of hesitation, he ran over to him and carefully pulled him into his arms.

"K-Kai?" he whimpered.

"It's okay kid, I've got you now. Everything's gonna be okay." The fire ninja held onto Lloyd as he got the two of them seated in the Ultra Sonic Raider tank, and then proceeded to drive back to Ninjago City, being careful to make the ride as smooth as possible so Lloyd wouldn't be in any more pain than he already was.

"Kai?" Lloyd muttered quietly again. Though still pale and obviously in a lot of pain, he turned his head to look up at Kai.

"What is it? Is the pain any worse? I'm sorry, I'm being as careful as I ca-"

"Thanks."

Kai blinked. "What? You don't need to thank me." A slight smile crossed his lips. "I'm just helping a brother out."

"Br-Brother?"

"Yep, of course. You may be the green ninja and all, but before that, you're my little brother. Even if you weren't supposed to fulfill any crazy prophecy, I'd still go back for you. It's no biggie."

No biggie? Maybe not to Kai, but to Lloyd...It meant more than he could say. Kai cared about him for who he was, not because he was someone special. He cared about him because they were this little, self-proclaimed family. And it was a family Lloyd was really beginning to love.