Okay so emails from have apparently been disabled for me? I'm not entirely sure how to get them back as I've done everything they told me to do, and it's still not working. If you have any ideas on how to fix this or had a similar problem, feel free to dm me because I do want to know what you guys are commenting and I need to know when my favorite stories are being updated. XD

Chapter V: Just Kai

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when Kai made it to his new destination. It was a pain to get his bike back from the city, but once he did, it took only a few hours to get to that place he knew so well, down that all too familiar pathway.

Once he made it to the end of the path, Kai got off of his bike and knocked on the door to the place he had once called home. It was a small house, not too far away from the blacksmith shop he and his sister used to run. With hundreds of dead flowers all around, a product of his mother's presence, and beautiful lace curtains decorating the windows, it was a place of comfort. Perfect for any home.

His parents were rather early birds, so they should be awake by now. He hoped anyway. If he woke them up, he would feel awful.

Just as Kai was starting to consider whether this was too early for his visit, the door swung open to reveal Ray wearing his blacksmith uniform and carrying a piece of iron. There was a certain pep in his step, indicating he had a lot of time already to wake himself up. Good. Kai hadn't waken him. Though, he never could understand why his parents ever wanted to be awake so early.

"Son! Your mother and I were just about to open the shop! Care to join us?" Ray asked. "I can teach you the ropes."

"Uh-" Kai started.

"Kai!" Maya exclaimed as she pushed past her husband and lifted Kai up into her famous "mama bear hug."

"Hey, Mom," Kai smiled.

"What brings you here, Sweetie?" she asked as she placed her son back down.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you guys, but if you need to work...I can help out," Kai blushed sheepishly as he said so. In all honesty, he really did want to learn more about being a blacksmith from his dad.

"I like the sound of that," said Ray.

The three worked together to try to make as many weapons as possible before their first customer arrived. Fifteen minutes after opening, they had nearly fifty newly made swords for their first customers, a family of three, to pick from.

While Ray decided that it was the perfect moment to teach Kai how to make a dagger, Maya went out to talk to the customers, and the family ended up leaving with an armor set, a katana, a knife, and some nunchucks.

"How'd you do that, Mom?" Kai asked as she came back over to help with their new project.

"Do what?"

"Get them to buy all that stuff."

"Oh, I just talk and find out what they would like. Then I tell them about it. It's pretty simple. I always thought your father would be good at it."

Ray's face grew a slight red tone as he said, "I'm not much of a people person."

"Don't listen to him, he's great with people."

"Doesn't mean I like it," Ray muttered under his breath, but there seemed to be a hint of laughter in there.

"So where's Nya, dear?" Maya asked, ignoring him.

"Oh! Well...I didn't exactly tell her I was coming," Kai sighed. "The only reason I'm really here is because there's a new villain we're facing. He recreated the power of amber and took most of my power. He used it to burn the city and now...it's gone."

"And you need our help to defeat him?" Ray asked, a smile coming to his face.

"No!" Kai said maybe a bit too harshly. He watched as the smile slowly disappeared and everything inside Kai's soul crushed as he realized what he just did.

"No, sorry. I didn't mean it like that," the fire ninja said. "It's just...it's my power. So it should be my responsibility. I just need to find the Water of Life, and I thought I'd drop by on my way there," he explained.

"You're going alone?" Maya asked.

Kai nodded.

"No, you're not. You are going to let us help you!" Ray said as he started to move out the door.

"No, Dad!" Kai exclaimed as he stood in front of his father, arms outstretched. "It's okay. I got this. Besides, you have a store to run, which I can help you with until closing time if you'd like."

"Not unless you let us join you on your quest," was Ray's response, refusing to look him in the eye.

His arms dropped.

"I'm sorry. It's just..."

"Something you have to do alone?" Maya asked.

Kai turned to his mom and gave her a knowing look.

"I used to think the same way, Kai, and trust me, it will only harm you."

Ray sighed as he remembered how difficult it was to get Maya to let him join her on a simple mission. It never helped when he got angry and seeing him react the same way when his son was having the same problem made him sick.

"Just...promise me you'll get help from the other ninja. At least," he said.

The fire ninja scoffed.

"Promise me!"

"I-I promise, Dad," Kai sighed. Once I see them again, of course. Hopefully that won't be until I give Flint's butt a good whooping.

"Good," Ray smiled.

"And as soon as you beat this guy, make sure to come over again. And bring Nya," Maya added.

"Of course," Kai smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

After giving both his parents a quick hug, Kai went back to his bike and drove off.

The monastery was still filled to the brim with people, but after two days, everyone was starting to get used to it.

The ninja had no idea how to find Kai, so after hours had been spent trying to locate him, they decided to leave the job for Pixal so she could try to get the tracking device in Kai's comm-link back online. Skylor, however, did not like this at all.

"How could they just give up like this?" the master of amber had been ranting for a long, long time and honestly, Pixal was starting to get sick of it.

"They did not give up," Pixal protested. "They merely took up a more fruitful task."

"Right because you don't gain anything from saving one of your closest friends. How silly of me," Skylor rolled her eyes. "You know, Zane and Nya and Jay are much smarter in the tech department than I am yet I don't see any of them down here, helping you out."

"That is true," Pixal reflected. "As close as the ninja are, Kai has always preferred to go 'at it' alone. Perhaps so much they no longer worry as much as they once did."

"Even if he is most likely fine out there, he could still use our help, no matter if he likes it or not."

No response came after this. Pixal almost seemed like she wasn't sure what to say, and she was tired.

Skylor sighed as she stood up from the ground where she had been working and said, "I need some air."

As Skylor exited the monastery she could hear her phone begin to ring. She took it out of her pocket and saw the name "Maya" written in big letters across her phone screen.

That's strange. She never calls me.

"Hello?" she asked as she accepted the call.

"Skylor dear! How are you?" Maya responded.

"Good, but Kai...well, he's missing," regret potent in her voice.

"Don't worry. He was just here. He told us that he wanted to look for the Water of Life, a legend in our village."

"That's great! I need to go tell the others. Nya will be glad to hear her brother's okay-"

"Well," Maya interrupted, "he seemed to be feeling upset, and I thought you would be the right one to cheer him up. Just the two of you."

Skylor caught herself blushing ever so slightly at that. Kai must think very highly of her if Maya thought she would be the right one for the job.

"I-I'll do my best," Skylor responded.

"I know you will."

After a few more pleasantries and a couple random tangents Maya decided to take her on, the older of the two finally hung up, leaving Skylor to begin her own mission.

Rushing back to the Hangar Bay, Skylor yelled, "Pixal! I know where he is!"

The nindroid looked up to the redhead with a questioning look and asked, "Where?"

"Ignacia. Maya just called saying he came to visit while looking for this thing called the Water of Life."

As Pixal turned her seat around to face the giant computer monitor and press the intercom button Skylor said, "Wait!"

Pixal turned back around as Skylor continued saying, "Don't tell the others! I think it will be easier to get him back here if it's just me."

The nindroid looked down for but a moment before looking back up and saying, "I will tell them he's been found. Good luck."

"Thanks, Pix."

She then boarded her new bike and drove off.

Kai had heard about the Water of Life and many other legends and fairy tales about Ignacia when he and Nya were young. They often went to help an elderly, blind woman with lawn work and cleaning in order to get money. Her name was Mrs. Haku and she lived on a secluded mountain at the edge of the village. While they worked, she would tell them hundreds of stories about many different legends, including one about how Iganica was created through the wish of a fire dragon. He always loved those stories, and she always loved to tell them. He was sure she'd be happy to tell him about the Water of Life again.

The fire ninja's bike was much too large to make it up the skinny mountain path, so he was forced to trek it by foot. It wasn't like the fire ninja didn't enjoy walking up the pathway to Mrs. Haku's home. It was filled with cherry blossom petals, perfectly cut grass, and the view from up there was absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, Kai was in a bit too much of a hurry to truly enjoy the view.

Finally, he made it to the top. The house was small with only three rooms. A mix between a kitchen and sitting room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The roof was made up of red tiles that stretched up much higher than it probably should've, and the door was a beautiful gold color with a dragon emblem on it. Seeing it made Kai feel overwhelmed with peace. It felt so much like his own home. But there was no time to think about this now. He had a mission.

He lifted up his fist in order to knock on the door, but before he could do anything he heard an aged voice on the other side of the door say, "Come in, Kai."

Kai opened the door to see Mrs. Haku sitting crisscrossed on a red cushion against the back wall right across the door. The walls surrounding her were covered in paintings of landmarks from many different realms, all titled in Braille.

As long as Kai could remember, Mrs. Haku had been blind. She explained that it had come with age, but that she could never let it stop her from seeing the world. She had a friendly neighbor who went down to the shops to get her food, but everything else she was able to do on her own. Nya had always looked up to her for that. And Kai did too.

"How-?" the young man started.

"I know you too well, Kai. Your hard head reeks of passion," she chuckled before saying, "and impatience."

Kai rolled his eyes, although, he had the hint of a smile as he sat down in front of her and her spirit smoke.

He looked around the room and realized that he now recognized many of the places her paintings and landmarks were of. The Sea of Sand, Torch Fire Mountain, the Wailing Alps, Hiroshi's Labyrinth, places that once felt so far away now memories. It was strange.

"So...what brings you here?" Mrs. Haku asked, and Kai couldn't help but feel embarrassed that he had forgotten to start talking. Though, it felt awkward to ask now. "Because judging by your unwillingness to start our conversation, this isn't just a friendly visit."

She saw right through him.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Haku, not this time. I need to know where the Water of Life is."

"Why do you need to know about that?" Mrs. Haku's eyebrows raised in concern.

"Ninjago City is gone. Some guy, Flint, put it on fire, and the Water of Life is the only way to put out any others he'll try to start."

"You are sure of this?"

"Pretty sure," Kai stammered.

Mrs. Haku chuckled. "Well, to fully understand the power you are trying to find, I must first tell you the legend."

Kai scooted up a little closer as she started saying, "Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master and with it, he created two sons for himself. The older was responsible and careful in his younger years. The younger was not. Oftentimes, he found himself getting into trouble. Whether that be fights with his brother or injuries from his play. His father always said, 'You must be careful, my son, for a good man knows his limits.' Still, the child did not listen, and he received an injury beyond repair. All of the best healers in Ninjago were found helpless when it came to the boy's case, and in the First Spinjitzu Master's anxiety, his own power was rendered useless. As the child's condition grew worse, the First Spinjitzu Master became desperate, and he turned to the elemental masters of his time, even the enemy elementals. Among his enemies was the master of water. He refused to help the First Spinjitzu Master, unless a gift was bestowed upon him. Use of the element of creation. The First Spinjitzu Master obliged, and the master of the water used his combined powers to create a water that could restore life and heal injuries. Wu was cured. But there was a price to pay. The power of creation was too much for the master of water, and he soon passed. The First Spinjitzu Master sealed off the area with a disguised force field, leaving a map for his young son if he ever needed it again."

"Woah!" Kai said in awe. "Wait, does that mean you don't have the map?"

"Though, that is where the story ends, it seems the child lost his map because I found it in the Desert of Doom during my younger years."

She handed the map to Kai, who took it excitedly saying, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Haku. I'll take care of it, I promise!"

Mrs. Haku scoffed. "You better."

Kai nodded and turned around to leave before hearing her say, "And Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd suggest you get your sister's help for this one. She's been before."

Kai nodded, slightly confused, but when he remembered that she couldn't see him he said, "Okay."

With that, the fire ninja left and looked to the map. It was a much older map so it didn't take into consideration any of the new roads or buildings, but Kai knew his village well enough to find the lake.

"Okay, so after reaching the top of Mt. Dara, head down the path until the fork in the road. Go right and I'll find the Water of Life! Simple! I can find the mountain in no time!"

Oh how wrong was he. It was about two hours later when Kai started getting mad.

"Oh, come on! How hard can finding one stupid mountain be!" the fire ninja exclaimed.

He huffed as he walked down the streets. He was about to walk up a mountain he hadn't trekked yet, but if he was being honest, he was way too tired for that.

Sighing, he sat down and said, "Why haven't I found it already?"

"What are you looking for, sonny?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Kai looked up to see an older man looking down to the fire ninja worriedly.

Barely even caring what anyone thought of him anymore, Kai said, "I need to find Mt. Dara."

"Ah, the Mountain of Wisdom. Have you ever met Mrs. Haku?" the man asked.

"Yes," Kai replied skeptically.

"Well she lives on Mt. Dara."

"What?!" Kai exclaimed. He looked back to the small house on the mountain. How much more damage has Flint done because of this wasted time?

"Is there anything else you need?" the man asked. He seemed concerned, which only frustrated the fire ninja more.

"No. Thank you," Kai replied, trying to keep his frustration down. It seemed he did an alright job hiding it because the man just smiled and waved as he continued on down the road.

Kai groaned to himself before heading right back up the mountain. If he thought the walk was too long before, it was agonizing now. Each step he took felt like it added fifty more. And he couldn't run or else Mrs. Haku would hear him and he'd have to explain why he was back and that was a story he would prefer to keep on the down low. So, walking it was.

After walking for what felt like forever, he finally made it to the top. He made his way around Mrs. Haku's garden filled with so many different flowers, vegetables, and fruits, most just little buds as spring was starting to close, and to the pathway from the map.

The path continued on for a long time after going past the house, and soon enough, Kai was able to sprint through, not letting anything stop him.

Through a split in a mountain, past many bodies of water he knew not to be what he was looking for, over the jagged rocks in the path. He ran as fast as his legs could take him until he made it to a landmark not on the map. A gorge with no way across.

"Uh oh," Kai gasped as he came to a halt, his feet leaning over the edge of the gorge as he struggled to regain his balance.

His stomach dropped as all he could see was the darkness below seemingly coming closer. Was he falling?

Over-correcting himself and fully pushing his body back, Kai ended up falling into the stones behind him and hitting his head, keeping him safe from the gorge but giving him a massive headache in the process.

With his hand applying pressure to his head, the fire ninja shakily stood up and looked past the gorge. There seemed to be nothing. No trees, no hanging vines, no life. Just rocks and mountain. Then, he looked down. Nothing but darkness. It was terrifying.

Kai double checked and tripled checked the map, but it said that the Water of Life was right here.

The fire ninja groaned for the umpteenth time. This was impossible. Unless...

Maybe he had hit his head a little too hard or maybe it was that looming thought over him of what his power had done in the last few days, but he suddenly had the irresistible urge to check out what really was down there.

Kai placed the map into his pouch and decided to for it. He jumped into the gorge and felt a strange sensation in the air. Almost like it was trying to push him away. It was so strong. Soon, the darkness completely disappeared, and he could see a beautiful wellspring. All around were amazing plants, just like the ones around Mrs. Haku's home. The lush green surrounding it was fed by a small sliver of sunlight from the broken-up rocks above. Such a powerful sliver of light it was, though. It made everything so warm and inviting.

Kai was in such awe by how beautiful it was, he almost forgot he was falling. Crashing hard into the water was a good reminder.

His pain receptors felt like they were on fire, but only for a moment. Soon enough, the water used its amazing power to heal all of the fire ninja's ailments. The pain from his fall, the headache from hitting his head on the rock, the burns from the fire monsters, even that weird feeling in his throat from all the smoke he inhaled. It all just disappeared.

Due to being healed of these injuries, Kai was able to make it out of the water quickly and look himself over. There wasn't even a scar.

"This is some good stuff," Kai smiled. "Now, how do I get you to Ninjago City?"

He grabbed his pouch from his belt and took the map out of it. Zane's waterproof technology worked well. The map barely had a drip on it. After placing the map in his pocket, he filled the pouch to the brim with the Water of Life. He then took a look at the bag and realized just how small it was. He couldn't put a whole fire out with just this.

As he looked around for anything else he could use to carry it, he heard footsteps coming up from behind. Kai quickly entered into a fighting stance as he turned around to face this new foe.

"Skylor?!" Kai exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

"Your mom called and told me you were looking for this place," Skylor replied as she stepped in front of him.

"Of course she did," Kai muttered under his breath. To Skylor, though, he said, "But...how did you get here?"

"The path down that way," Skylor almost chuckled. "How did you get in here?"

Kai sighed as he looked up to the force field protecting the wellspring from being spotted above.

Skylor looked up as well before looking back to her boyfriend, horrified. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kai replied. "I landed in the water, and it works. All my bruises and burns and everything is gone. The legend is real, Skylor. We can use this to prevent any more fires from spreading across Ninjago."

"That's great!" Skylor replied, "but how do you plan on moving it?"

"I'm still figuring that part out," as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nya will probably know."

"Is that really necessary?"

"No, but she is the master of water, so it can't hurt to ask."

"Yeah, but-"

"Besides you need to let the others help you. This is honestly getting ridiculous."

"It was my mistake, why bring everyone else in to fix it?"

"Because you can only fix it if you have everyone else."

"Why?" Kai sounded almost tearful as he sat down on a nearby rock, staring into the water.

Skylor sat down on the rock next to him and placed her arm around his shoulder, rubbing his arm as she said, "We've talked about this before. You know exactly why you need them. You need us."

"Because I'm not strong enough," Kai realized.

"None of us are. Not alone anyway. So why don't we call Nya and the others?"

Kai's eyes flared up. She was talking to him like he was some sort of child. He brought his shoulder closer to himself, rejecting the arm and almost turned around to say something to her, but as he looked into her big, amber eyes, he saw nothing but care. She wasn't trying to patronize him, she was trying to give advice. And that's when he noticed his body temperature. It was entirely fueled by emotion, and he was burning. As soon as he realized this, he took a breath, got his body temperature down, and said, "Okay. I'll call them."

Skylor smiled brightly at this before giving her boyfriend a hug.

The other ninja arrived in record time after Kai's call. After waiting for hours for any good news, they were overjoyed when it finally came. When they actually arrived, though, they almost seemed annoyed with Kai, surprising the fire ninja.

"So how are we supposed to move it?" Lloyd asked, immediately going back into leader mode after hearing Kai's plan.

"I don't know," Kai replied, not letting go of his pouch. Why did Lloyd sound angry?

Nya knelt down next to the water and swirled it around ever so slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Finally, she said, "Maybe if we can put it in the Samurai X mech..."

"How?" Lloyd asked.

"I can ask Pix and Seven to build a container for the back. It could work," Nya shrugged.

"I do not believe it will," Zane replied, coldly.

Everyone looked to Zane, curious as it seemed to be a good idea on Nya's part.

He looked down in discomfort for a moment before looking back up at Kai and saying, "The Water of Life is known for curing ailments, not putting out fires."

He said it so directly even Skylor got upset.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "None of you have known where Kai was for days and the first thing you say to him when you finally find him is 'your plan isn't going to work'?"

The nindroid looked down once again, but this time in guilt.

"I am sorry, Kai. I do not mean to disregard your plan."

"Whatever," Kai scoffed. "We need to figure this out."

"Any ideas?" Lloyd asked.

And as the ninja started sharing ideas, Kai couldn't help but feel disconnected. He wasn't smart like Nya or Jay or Zane or strong like Cole. He wasn't a good leader like Lloyd or funny like Jay. He was just Kai.

Honestly, I can relate to Kai a lot here. I hope you all liked this chapter. Next one should be out soon.

Have a great day/night!

#God'sNotDead