A.N: Sorry for the absence. I had family over my house and with Hurricane Arthur on the 4th…ugh. That was a LOT of rain.

But I'm here now! Hope everyone had a great Independence Day! Thanks to the two Guests, Story Lover, jammed123, and Rebel Glow for reviewing. Please enjoy!

More Kai, more swearing. Also some more third person. I liked writing that for some reason or another.

I also feel like Kai's the type of person who doesn't like sympathy or TLC thrust upon him, so you'll see him being as stubborn as an ox. XD

Kai's POV:

I awoke to voices and a weird burning sensation in my throat. Curiosity got the best of me, so I kept my eyes closed so I could listen.

"I'm starting to like Kai's plan more and more."

"Shut up Jay! I told you it was very irrational!"

"They deserve it Cole!"

"I don't care if they deserve it! We aren't cold-blooded killers!"

"Hush, both of you, I believe he is waking up."

Dammit I thought. I gave a soft groan, which wasn't one hundred percent fake, mind you, and fluttered open my eyes. Sensei was standing over me with a look of relief, Jay and Cole stood smiling at the end of my bed, with Zane behind them, and Nya and Zoe were on my left. Garmadon was next to Sensei, looking at me void of any expression. I suddenly felt all awkward from the attention.

Nya grinned and hugged me tightly as I sat up. "Next time, try not to be so stupid okay? You scared me to death."

"I can't promise anything." I winced at how hoarse I sounded, as well as Sensei.

When my sister broke away, she gave me a punch in the shoulder and a smirk. I couldn't help but smirk back.

"Well, I think we have all learned that Kai is as stubborn as an ox today, haven't we?" Jay joked.

"Hey!" I shouted, then winced and clutched my throat. Garmadon sighed and shook his head, as Jay bit his lip and looked away.

"You shouldn't talk so much Kai, after all, it must hurt after almost being choked to death," Cole said surprisingly gentle.

I gave him a look that said, shut up. I do what I want.

"So, what happened after I passed out?" I asked, biting my tongue to avoid cringing.

Jay piped up before anyone else could. "Well, if you didn't already notice, Zane slipped away behind Pythor, and used his shurikens to make him drop you. It was just…bad timing I guess."

"Sorry about that brother," said Zane. I nodded in understanding. It wasn't his fault, it was Pythor's. Yet another reason for me to stab him and his little scaly comrades.

"After that, the scroll rolled out of your hands, so Cole, me, and the serpentine were trying to get it. It was Cole who got it, and it ended up being a huge game of keep-away."

I raised an eyebrow. Keep-away. Really?

"While handling that, Sensei was attempting to get you up, but you obviously wouldn't."

I smiled at my mentor and mouthed thank you. Sensei smiled back and winked. Put aside the sunrise exercises and his infamous wake-up call with his gong, and when he whacks us in the head with his staff, I like him a lot and it's nice to know he cares about me and the rest of us so much.

"But anyway, eventually Pythor and his friends cornered us at the edge of the mountain, and got the scroll. It was either that or getting chucked off the mountain and turned into pancakes. We tried to give chase, but by the time we got back to the Bounty they were out of our sight."

I glowered. Where they really as sick and twisted as to kill them? The assholes.

Cole noticed my expression and gave a sad smile. "They didn't actually carry it out Kai, don't worry."

I relaxed slightly, but only slightly. Suddenly a horrifying thought occurred to me.

"Guys, the solstice is tomorrow! That was our last chance!"

Sensei's eyes seemed to grow older. "We know Kai, and we will do everything in our power to make sure they don't win and Venom doesn't rise. But we need a plan first. And you need to rest first."

I scoffed. "I don't need rest. I'm fine." I clenched my jaw to avoid crying out at how much my throat hurt.

Garmadon grunted. "As much as it pains me to say this, my brother is right Kai. If we have a chance at getting my son back, each of us is going to have to be in top condition."

I blinked in surprise and stared at the dark lord. Since when did he care about my well-being? Or anyone's well-being really. He noticed my puzzled face and sighed. "I want my son back. And all of you ninja are his only hope, much to my dismay." The last part came out as an angry murmur.

At first I was still confused, but then what he said started to click. Lloyd is his whole world, his pride and joy. The only person left in his life he still truly loves. Now that he was in mortal danger, he'll rely on anyone to bring him back.

Even us.

My eyes met his, and I gave a curt nod. I'll make sure he comes back alive.

Jay cleared his throat. "Moving on from that, we need a plan before we barge in willy-nilly, and Kai needs a break."

I was about to protest this, but the look on his and everybody else's face told me there was no getting out of it. Groaning, I said under my breath I would comply.

Sensei smiled. "Come join us when you're ready."

And with that, everyone followed him out the door. I didn't think I would get much sleep, but the second my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

"Alright, so how will we do this? I am completely for Kai's plan, I mean c'mon, who doesn't want to do a little dirty work?" Jay asked.

The leader of the ninja groaned and rubbed his temples. "I'm not even going to bother anymore…"

Garmadon seemed as if he was close to flipping the table, while Sensei Wu sighed into his tea, making it ripple.

"As Cole has said before Jay, it would very unwise to enter without a plan of action," Zane said while grimacing.

"Willy-nilly stabbing is a plan of sorts," Jay said with a know-it -all look on his face.

Cole started to get up as if to slap him, but Nya spoke up before he could. "You guys have to remember that the shadows are invincible. You're going to need a separate plan for them."

Cole frowned. "You're right. I forgot about that."

An uneasy silence settled across the group. The only sound was of Kai's snoring from the bedroom, making the moment more awkward.

"Who said we had to defeat them?"

All eyes turned to Zoe.

"I'm no ninja, but maybe you could just distract them or something? Some others could fight the snakes, while one or two people free Lloyd and get the scroll back."

After a period of silence Cole spoke. "…that could work. If we plan carefully and get as prepared as possible, we can make a stand against them."

Sensei pondered this. "It is quite risky, but better than nothing at all. Very well. How should we divide into groups?"

"I say Jay can do the distracting, seeing as he's…Jay," Cole replied.

"Fine by me! Wait, what do you mean by that?" Jay asked nervously.

A moment passed and Jay disregarded it. "You know, never mind. But I don't want to be there by myself! What if I get possessed or something?!"

"I could do it," said the sister of earth. "I can use a dagger pretty well, and it's only distracting, after all. It's not like I'll be fighting them."

"We will need every one we can get," Zane said dejectedly.

As expected, Cole wasn't agreeing to this. "Whoa whoa whoa! Who ever said my baby sister was getting into all of this!"

Nya winced and gave Zoe a look of pity.

"Cole," Zoe said, "I'll be fine. Jay will be there, so I won't be alone. And I think I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She folded her arms and sat back in her chair like the matter was closed.

The ninja of earth was about to protest, but Zoe silenced him with a glare. "Alright, you can help. But be careful, okay?"

She nodded in reply and began playing with her bracelet.

With that controversy avoided, the ninja of earth continued to plan. "Alright, Nya, Zane and I will hold off the snakes. Sensei, Garmadon and Kai will get Lloyd out of the prison cells and the scroll back from Pythor. Everybody cool with what they are doing?"

Nods floated around the room.

Cole gave a forced grin. "Then let's get to work."

A snore was heard from Kai's room. Nya exhaled. "Should I wake him up?" She asked while jabbing her thumb in the direction of the bedroom.

Jay laughed. "Nah, let the hot-head sleep. He'll be cranky if otherwise."

Pythor fingered the scroll in his claws, turning the parchment around in his scaly hands. A sinking feeling was resting in the pit of his stomach, twisting and churning as he slithered across the chamber.

Snakes were filtering around, whispering and hissing in excitement at their victory against the ninja. Xander was trailing behind Pythor, his black obsidian eyes fixed in front of him. The cold temperature was overwhelming the violet serpentine, his breath snaked (no pun intended) out in front of him, and the frost forming around his tail was beginning to turn very uncomfortable.

He stopped in the middle of the room and turned around to face the freezing being. "If you excuse me Xander, I would like to go to my quarters now. Alone, if you please."

The frosty apprentice blinked uncertainly, and then nodded. "As you wish Pythor. I will leave you be." His voice was tight and strained, as if it was painful to even talk to the Anacondri. Said snake didn't catch this, of course.

"Thank you Xander," Pythor said gratefully. The second he finished his sentence Xander dissipated into a puff of wind and snow.

Pythor coughed and wiped the snow off his face, then looked back and forth to make sure he was now alone. A few serpentine were gathered in a small corner, but Pythor disregarded them and quickly glided away into the prison cells before anyone gave a second glance. His heart was pounding like a herd of angry elephants, as his fuchsia eyes flickered back and forth to make sure he wasn't being followed.

After a few moments he arrived at the cell he was looking for. Carefully, his claws curled around the knob and pushed the door open with a slow creak.

Pale blue eyes met his pink ones.

A.N: BWAHAHAHAHA. XD

Alright, big news everybody! The next chapter is the start of the final battle! *screams* I've been wanting to write this since I started this fic!

So…prepare yourselves for an emotional roller-coaster! Please keep hands and feet inside the ride at all times. I can say that you will laugh, cry, and want to chuck your device into the wall…

So look for that! Until then, review, find Camp Half-Blood…oops wrong fandom…

Frosti, signing off!