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Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.
Chapter VII: Lost Flame
Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane, Pixal, and Lloyd were all on the bridge in need for a strategy. After having made a quick stop at the monastery in order to pick up their nindroid friend, the Bounty was now making its way to Ninjago City.
Pixal had a holographic image of Borg Tower's schematics showing in the center of the bridge while Kai explained what each room was being used for.
"There's at least two monsters on each floor," he explained. "Both near the elevator. Though, after our break-ins, they might've learned about the stairwell. Flint's office is on the fifty-seventh floor. The forty-second floor is where the fire monsters were created. I'm not sure about the rest. I was in the stairwell or vents for the most part."
"And there wasn't anything there?" Cole asked.
Kai shook his head to affirm this.
"Then that's our best bet," Lloyd announced. "Cole and I will take one stairwell while Zane and Nya will take the other," as he pointed to the two stairwells on the schematics. "Kai, Jay, Pixal. You guys will climb up outside."
"Climb?!" Jay exclaimed. "Aw man!"
"Don't worry. We'll have a little help," Pixal said as she walked over to a cabinet and pulled three jet packs out. Red for Kai and blue for Jay and Pixal.
Kai easily caught his before placing it right back down on the table beside him and leaving the room.
He followed that heart wrenching sound of tears falling that was coming from the guest bedroom. The only room on the ship that no one ever used.
The fire ninja lightly tapped the door twice so as not to alert any other ninja except for the one on the other side.
A gasp and silence. Kai was almost about to leave when he heard a nasally voice saying, "Come in."
Kai opened the door and gently closed it behind before sitting on the bed and asking, "You okay?"
"I don't know," she responded. With her hair down and in her face, she looked like a complete mess. It reminded him of when they were kids living in the streets when she would cry for her home.
Kai wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a side hug, hoping that his presence would somehow help her take her mind off of what had happened.
The siblings sat there for a long while, not a word spoken between them. Her cries had become so weak Kai almost let himself think she had fully calmed down, but it only got worse from there. It killed him to hear her this upset. He had to know what was wrong, if she would be okay. So, he decided to ask her, even if it would make her uncomfortable. Before he could even get a word out, though-
"I can't believe I forgot you again," Nya could barely get the words out.
"Hey, it's okay," Kai told her. "You weren't yourself."
"How many times will I 'not be myself'?" Nya asked. "How do I even know who I am if every time I mess up, I'm not myself?"
"I know who you are," her brother replied.
Nya looked up, curious.
"You're smart, resilient, compassionate, hot tempered, impatient, loving, independent, competitive, strong, fierce, understanding," Kai replied. "You created Samurai X; you learned airjitzu in, like, two seconds; you saved countless people from the Preeminent; from Wojira. You're an amazing person, Nya. We need you."
"But who is that?" Nya asked.
"Nya, master of water. Samurai X. My little sister, Jay's yang, savior of Ninjago. And whether you can remember us in that moment you defeat Flint and save us all again, you will still be that to us."
"What about me? Who is everyone to me when I'm..."
"I don't know," Kai responded. "That's something you need to tell me."
"I...felt comfortable with you, but I had no idea who you were."
"And the others?"
"I knew I could trust them, but...same thing."
"You can learn how to control it again. Just like you did the first time," Kai told her.
"I never learned to control it," Nya corrected him.
"You've remembered us in that form. That's why you came back. You've never been too far gone. I mean, someone said your name, and you immediately remembered everything. And that was after a year! You can touch the water stone without being so afraid."
"You think I can learn to control it?" Nya asked.
"Yeah!"
Kai's enthusiasm was not reciprocated, though. She just stared at the mattress, fidgeting with the corners of the blanket.
"Just...think about it. Okay?"
Nya nodded and with that, he was gone.
The Bounty now hovered at least twenty miles east of Ninjago City above the ocean. Kai's old Katana VII was located immediately underneath the ship, but quite a few improvements had been made. The biggest one being the size of the vehicle. Instead of only being able to seat one, it could now seat up to eight people, plus the driver. A beautiful paint job done by the one and only MiniPix 7 was also included. All red, maybe a little burgundy, with K's detailed along the wings. The fire master thought it was perfect.
"Is everybody ready?" Lloyd asked.
"Ready!" everyone said, except for Kai.
"Wait. Where's Nya?"
"I'm here," Nya sighed, walking up to the group at the edge of the ship. Her hair placed back up, but this time in a tight bun.
"You okay?" Lloyd asked.
"Yep," Nya nodded before taking her place next to Jay.
"Good."
"I like your hair," Kai could hear the lightning ninja whisper, and a small smile appeared on her face. She was going to be okay.
The green ninja, and everybody else for that matter, dove into the waters below the Bounty and entered the Katana VII. As they headed for Ninjago City, Kai drove his sub as deep into the water as possible, hoping not to be seen by anyone above. He took them through the tunnel system underneath the city, which led to the canal. The sub stopped at the very edge of this canal, and the ninja hopped out before switching out their scuba gear for masks to protect themselves from the smoke.
"That was a piece of cake!" Cole chuckled.
"Well get ready," Lloyd replied. "We can't be sure what's up ahead."
"Just try not to get the monsters' attention," Jay instructed.
Kai scoffed. "Like you're one to talk."
"How do we do that?" Nya asked, ignoring her brother's statement, even if it was true.
"We're ninja. Sneaking around is our job," Jay shrugged confidently before dramatically diving into a pile of ash and debris, completely burying himself in the soot. Soon, he showed up about 20 feet in front of that where he gestured for the other ninja to follow.
Each of the ninja looked to each other and shrugged before following Jay to the remains of someone's home. Jay ended up diving under some ash but accidentally kicked Cole's leg in the process, causing the surprised master of earth to end up on his side.
"Ow!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Jay exclaimed, but he stopped when he heard a monster's growl.
Immediately, Jay dumped some debris on his best friend in order to hide him before doing the same to himself. The other ninja acted similarly.
As the monster came to investigate, Jay could see a sliver of flame coming closer and closer to him. He whimpered as he flattened himself against the ground, hoping the debris would fully cover him. The monster let out a loud, long roar, scaring the blue ninja, but soon, he was gone. Luckily leaving the ninja safe.
"That was close," Pixal remarked as they left their hiding place.
"Yeah," Jay chuckled, all his previous confidence gone.
"Let's get out of here," Lloyd said. "Before they come back."
Quietly rushing away from the debris and to Borg Tower, they avoided the fire monsters as best as they could. Finally, they made it to the tower to enact their plan. Nya and Zane went up staircase 1, Lloyd and Cole up staircase 2, and Jay, Kai, and Pixal using their jet packs to fly up the building.
"Floor 23, we're making good time," Cole remarked after about five minutes.
"Keep it down. We don't want to attract any of the monsters," Lloyd instructed in a half whisper.
Cole nodded.
It was only a few minutes later when they reached floor 40. Lloyd tried to keep running up, but Cole grabbed his shoulder and nodded upwards. In the complete silence of the stairwell, Lloyd could hear exactly what his older brother sensed. The monsters right above them.
Quietly, they moved back two floors below and exited the stairwell into the building.
"That was close," Cole panted. He had barely finished his sentence, though, before his eyes went wide in surprise, noticing something quite strange. The elevator was still moving. "It still works?"
The two ninja walked over to the elevator, which had now stopped at floor 11. They waited a moment to see if anyone else was getting on, but when it didn't move, they deemed it safe. So, Lloyd pressed the button to call it. He then took his sword out and looked to the earth master saying, "Get ready."
Cole responded by nodding as he grabbed his hammer.
Both ninja entered a fighting position as they braced themselves for the heat, but when the elevator doors opened, there was no one.
"This building has really bad security," Cole smirked as he entered the elevator.
Lloyd cautiously entered after him and hit the button to floor 57.
"Stay on your guard," he said as the doors closed.
Flint stood in front of Skylor's cell, unmoving. He had drowned her insults out long ago. Right now, he just needed peace as he waited for the fire ninja.
"Is your boyfriend always this late?" Flint interrupted her unknown rant.
"I-I guess," Skylor seemed to be taken aback. It had been a while since she had been captured, but she was certain Kai would come.
"How unfortunate," he sighed.
Though, it was then that he felt a horrible pang in his head followed by multiple voices. He had to drown out Skylor's voice once more in order to clearly hear that the thoughts in his mind were those of the ninja. Two coming from the elevator, two near the staircase, and three right outside. One of them being the fire ninja.
"My child," Flint turned to the only other monster in the room. "Guard the prisoners with your life. I have urgent business to attend to."
Eagerly, the monster came forward and planted himself where he could see all five cells easily. Flint pressed the elevator button. Since the one moving was already past his floor, the second one had to come to him. He entered the elevator and put in floor 57 before he commanded the monster on floor 56 through the power of mind to call the elevator.
Cole and Lloyd couldn't help but stare in terrified awe at the city below. At least, what used to be the city. Nothing was left. No store or home; warehouse or bridge; not even a sidewalk was left. Smoke choked out every bit of land that needed so desperately to be filled and covered it all in a terrifying haze. How could they stop something as big as this?
"I don't believe it," Cole said.
"It's horrible," Lloyd's voice was so soft, it was almost silent.
As the two stood staring at the hopeless picture in front of them, the elevator stopped. Assuming it was their stop, the ninja turned around only to see a surprised fire monster. That surprise soon turned to anger, though, as he dove into the elevator. The two ninja pressed themselves against the wall as best as they could in order to avoid getting burned, but it seemed those injuries would be unavoidable, especially in such a small space.
The monster immediately punched Lloyd in the stomach before kicking Cole into the now closed elevator door. Lloyd shot his power at the monster's head, but it did close to nothing against the fire. He continued this while Cole tried to distract the monster with his hammer. Blast after blast hit the monster, but nothing could damage him. Eventually, Lloyd shot one so strong that the monster roared in pain when it hit him. His attention went from Cole to Lloyd as he started coming closer and closer until Lloyd shot one right in the center of his forehead. The monster gave a loud cry out as he fell over with a thud. No sound followed. No motion continued. It was almost like he was-
The monster exploded. The impact from the blow threw Cole and Lloyd right into the glass window. While this didn't break, thankfully, the explosion ended up reaching the cable, snapping it in two and causing it to fall.
Zane sensed it immediately. Floor 48 was already too high to reach them in time, but he had to try.
Grabbing Nya's hand, he led her to crash through the window with him, and they fell.
The two each used their respective powers to create a slide leading right where Zane calculated the elevator would be during this time. They went on the slide and broke the glass window of the elevator. Immediately, the air pressure threw an unconscious Cole and Lloyd right into their rescuers.
Down, down, down they fell until suddenly, they weren't falling anymore. They hadn't hit the ground yet either.
Nya looked up to see none other than her yin struggling to get her and Cole down to safety. Kai had Lloyd and Pixal had Zane.
Soon, they were safely on the ground, but the fire monsters had already spotted them.
"Thanks," Nya said, giving her yin a hug. "Now go. We'll hold 'em off!"
Jay nodded before he, Kai, and Pixal activated their jet packs and flew back up the tower.
Before doing anything else, Zane created a shield of ice around Cole and Lloyd, which immediately began to melt.
"How are we supposed to defeat them?" Nya asked, getting her trident out to fight. Zane, meanwhile, took his shurikens from his pocket and said, "Perhaps they have a weak spot?"
The ice shield shattered suddenly, and the monsters ran at the vulnerable ninja. Nya ran in front of the monsters to protect them but was immediately punched in the face. Zane was a bit more effective as he shot ice blast after ice blast at the monsters. While it did minimal damage, it slowed them down enough for Nya to get back into the fight. They couldn't be invincible, could they?
She used her trident to hit the monsters in the stomach, the legs, arms, head, but nothing seemed to work.
"Zane!" Nya called as she did a back flip to avoid being hit by a monster before blocking another's punch with her trident. "I have an idea!"
"What do you have in mind?" Zane asked.
Nya activated her power and nodded to the master of ice to do the same.
A look of realization came across the nindroid's face. This soon turned into a confident smile as Zane did as his sister commanded him. Together, the two shot blasts of their elements at the monsters and just as Nya had thought, destroyed them. They continued doing this until every last one of them was gone.
"Maybe we won't need the stone after all?" Nya asked hopefully.
Zane gave Nya a polite smile, but he wasn't so sure about that.
"Ugh! What happened?" Cole groaned from behind. Lloyd was right next to him, and they looked awful.
There was no time to explain, though, as just then, hundreds more monsters appeared, running at them at an alarming rate.
Immediately, Lloyd jumped up and shot his power in the center of one's forehead, destroying it, while Zane and Nya used their powers to destroy others. Meanwhile, Cole used his hammer on the ones up close in an attempt to protect his friends.
"I do not know how much longer we can take this!" Zane exclaimed.
"Just hold on!" Lloyd replied.
Up, up, up the three went, doing everything they could not to look back down. Floor 57 wasn't too far off. Maybe five more floors? But the higher they went, the more uneasy Kai felt. What if they were too late? What if Flint stole Skylor's power too? Would that enhance his other stolen ones even more? So many questions flooded through his head, the voices were so loud.
The three could finally stop as they finally reached the final floor of Borg Tower. They entered through the destroyed walls to see Flint standing at the elevator, silently watching.
Jay gasped as he backed away slightly, but it was difficult to do with the increased gravity in the room. Most likely an overcorrection due to being up so high.
"Ninja," Flint's mask was getting worn out, causing an awful effect on his voice. "I've been expecting you."
"Oh, yeah?" Kai asked, taking his sword out.
"Yes," the word was so simple, yet he made it sound so terrifying.
He ran at them, hands burning with Kai's fire. Kai's stolen fire.
The actual fire master managed to dodge Flint's attack before grabbing the man's wrists and kneeing him in the face. Flint responded by using Cole's power to both protect himself and throw Kai into the elevator door. Pixal and Jay were next as they ran at Flint, punching and kicking, but Flint expertly dodged each of these attacks before using the power of gravity to push them off. He almost smiled to himself, but the thoughts of one behind him made him remember that he must stay on his toes if his plan was to be completed. So without hesitation, he leaned backwards to see the sword slash over top of his face, the heat from the fire radiating off the enraged man with the sword. Flint almost laughed. He was but a child and acted as if he had any place here. It was almost funny.
Almost.
I will destroy everything you love, fire ninja. Until you can understand, Flint told the younger man through his thoughts.
He then used Cole's earth to punch him into the wall, creating a huge crack. The power of gravity was especially helpful for the lightning ninja as he was able to bring Jay to him and grab his face just in time for Kai to see.
"Jay!" the master of fire exclaimed as he ran for his brother.
The lightning ninja screamed as his element was ripped from his body. His brother ran at him in a desperate attempt to stop this, but as soon as Kai reached arm's length, Flint dropped Jay, electrocuted Pixal, and crushed Kai to the floor using gravity.
It hurt so bad, but he couldn't even scream. It felt like he couldn't even breathe.
"Finally, some peace," Flint sighed, coming closer to the fire ninja. "Now, what have you come here for?"
When no response came, Flint let off on the extreme gravity, realizing his tactics may have been a little too harsh.
"Do your-" Kai could barely catch his breath. "Do your creepy monsters...do whatever...they want or...something?"
"They are not monsters!" Flint screamed. "They are my children."
Kai was speechless for a moment but soon regained his composure as he yelled back, "And they were created by my element!"
"It should've never been yours. Fire is too powerful of an element for a mere boy to control."
"If you can control it so well, where's the city?"
"You saw," the answer was so simple it was sickening. "I was forced to stand and watch as my daughter was taken from me. Helpless as she was, I was safe. And so were you. The most uncontrollable element and yet you take it so lightly. You are nothing more than a child playing with matches, yet you refuse to see that. Even now, you don't believe me. You do not understand that with one foul move, you can destroy entire cities," as he gestured to the black land below. "You do not understand that with just a little more effort, you could create life. And you especially do not understand what your family truly means to you. You are foolish."
"Even if these things were true, how can I be more foolish than a guy who decided to kill just to prove a point?" Kai spat back.
"Sometimes the most important lessons are the hardest to teach. And your next lesson begins now."
Kai's stomach dropped at the words as Flint used gravity to take him to the elevator. He watched as Flint punched in the number 38, and the elevator doors closed in front of them.
The testing facility was where he kept his prisoners. Gravis, Neuro, Jacob, Turner, and...
"Skylor!" Kai exclaimed, worried yet glad he had finally found her.
"Kai!" Skylor smiled in response, but then she saw the state he was in. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Just then, Kai was freed from gravity's hold, allowing him to run over to the transparent window. To be closer to her.
"I'm afraid we have little time for a reunion," Flint interrupted. "It is time for your lesson."
"Yeah, you said that already," Kai snapped. This guy was getting on his last nerve.
"If you are so impatient to get on with it, very well," there wasn't even a hint of a smile in his voice.
Kai watched uneasily as Flint walked over to Skylor's makeshift cell and pressed a button, causing a hole to appear in the wall with a small vial. Kai had never seen anything like this substance, but he could feel it. Although, it was but a fragment of what he carried within his soul every day. Somehow, Flint had broken his element up and contained it, but why it was in Skylor's cell scared him.
"Some say that being set on fire is more painful than childbirth."
He said it so calmly, Kai almost missed it, but all color drained from his body as he looked to Flint and then back to Skylor.
She watched cautiously as the essence was dropped into her cell and began to spread. Fast.
The master of amber couldn't do anything but run away. She ran to the farthest corner from the fire and hopped from wall to wall in an attempt to get away, but when she made it to the platform experiments were actually supposed to be tested on, Flint pressed another button to get rid of it. She fell to the floor hard, and Kai was stuck, frozen. The fire got closer and closer, and the master of amber wasn't moving.
"Let her go!" Kai gritted his teeth.
"Just watch," Flint replied, already frustrated.
Skylor screamed suddenly as she regained consciousness, feeling nothing but heat.
"Kai!" she yelled as she jumped up, seeking any sort of refuge.
Kai's own breath became shaky as fear and anger overtook him. As he watched her back into a corner terrified, as he watched the flames grow ever closer, as he watched it singe her clothes. Then, as if in slow motion, it was about to ignite. Skylor didn't even notice it. In fact, Flint didn't even notice it.
The fire ninja was surprised no one stopped him when he threw his fire at the window, melting it just enough so that he could go through. He jumped in and harnessed the fire that surrounded his girlfriend, making sure to move it outwards from her. It felt almost unreal. As he touched the fire, it felt as if it consumed him. Then, it became stronger and stronger until he was fully in control. The fire that surrounded him was no longer fighting against him but with him, and he was stronger for it.
"Leave her out of this!" Kai yelled, allowing what was left of his fire to completely consume him.
Flint merely kicked the wall down so he could walk into his once perfect cell.
"Kai?" Skylor asked, hopping up and getting into a fighting stance, but the smoke was almost too much for her to bear.
The fire ninja, refusing to break eye contact with the enemy in front of him, took his breathing mask off and gave it to Skylor. She was hesitant to take it, but when she realized how serious he was, she decided to go ahead.
As soon as the mask was on it felt like all her energy had returned. She reentered into her fighting stance in order to end this battle alongside her boyfriend.
Kai responded by placing his arm out in order to block her way to Flint.
"Stay out of this," Kai told her.
"I know what I'm doing," Skylor replied, hurt.
"I know you do. But this is my mistake. And I know how to fix it." A long pause as Skylor searched for any signs of jest from her boyfriend. Nothing. "Now get out."
"Do tell me, fire ninja. How do you plan to...fix it?" Flint asked, creating another fire. He wasn't letting his guard down.
"Take me," Kai offered with little hesitation but a few coughs.
"What? No!" Skylor cried, only to be ignored.
"Teach me the lessons you have for me, and I will willingly listen. Just keep her and all my friends...out of it," Kai continued, his breath slowly leaving his body. It was almost like all the oxygen in the air had just disappeared.
Flint thought a moment. The boy in front of him already seemed to hold a sense of selflessness. If he could grow this, perhaps it would make his final blow more impactful.
"On one condition," Flint replied.
Kai stepped back cautiously.
"When your lessons are complete, you will allow me to go through with my plan," Flint said.
The fire ninja didn't know exactly what his plan looked like, but considering what had just happened, it didn't seem like a good thing. Maybe he could stall the lessons long enough to keep his friends safe. So, he took the hand Flint offered him, and the two shook on it.
"Kai, you don't know what you're doing!" Skylor exclaimed as she grabbed his shoulder, absorbing some of his power. But this feeling, reminding Kai of when Flint stole his power, scared him, and he immediately went into fight mode. The next thing he knew, his fist was in her hand, directed right at her face.
All colored drained from his body as he realized what he could've done. Quickly, he pulled the fist away, keeping it safely at his side but seeing the uneasiness in Skylor's eyes hurt him.
"I...can't," Kai realized. "I'm...sorry."
"Can't what?" Skylor asked.
"Protect you. Or anyone. I mean, look around!" his eyes were becoming red. Both from the tears that threatened to form, and the smoke surrounding him. "This is all because of my power! Flint's right. I'm not worthy to be an elemental master. Or your boyfriend."
Skylor's eyes went wide as she tried to take his hands in her own, but he pulled away.
"You need to go," he said.
"I'm not leaving you!" Skylor yelled, tears threatening to fall.
"Very well then," Flint interrupted, emotionless. "We will leave then. Shall we?" he turned to Kai when asking this.
Kai nodded, covering his face as he coughed violently, though, the redhead could've sworn she heard a cry.
"Goodbye, Ms. Chen," Flint bowed.
Before Skylor could attack in response, Flint grasped onto Kai's wrist and used the power of speed to get out of there, leaving the master of amber in a cloud of smoke.
For a while, she just stood there, stuck with her own thoughts. He was gone. Even if they got him back, he'd be gone. He let her go, and now, she was all alone.
I hope you all liked that chapter. That was definitely the saddest I've written so far. Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone! Are you guys excited for the Christmas season? We get to put our tree up on Friday :D
Have a great day/night!
#God'sNotDead