Chapter 4! I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.

Chapter IV: Desperate Attempt

"Jay," he could hear her voice, barely, but he could. "Jay." Compared to what was in front of them, it was nothing. Fragile, small. So was he. He could do nothing to protect her. "Jay." Maybe this was all just a bad dream. The pain was starting to go away, maybe he was just numb from being asleep. Nothing bad was happening, Kai was right next to him, asleep in the tomb, and the others were back at the monastery, safe. It wasn't real. "Jay!"

"It's not real," Jay laughed.

"What?!" A new voice came in this time. He wasn't sure who's it was.

"I'm just dreaming!" Jay almost started to cackle. "This isn't real. You're all back at the monastery, and I'm in the tomb, sleeping."

"Jay..." she trailed off as she started walking towards him. As she came closer, he could finally register her as Nya. Her figure became much less blurry as her voice started to gain volume. "We have to run. Now!"

"No," his voice weakened as he said it, ears ringing as he heard it. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be!

"Yes!" she yanked his hand up into her own and dragged him to the Fire Eater. After placing him into the backseat and Lloyd in his lap, the rest hopped onto the sides, and Nya drove them off.

It all happened so fast. In a blur, the monsters started getting further and further behind, though, they tried to catch up. It felt like they were flying across the snow. Nya maneuvered the vehicle with such mastery that it would be impossible for the monsters to ever catch up, even if they were fast enough. They would be fine.

The lightning ninja let out a breath he had been holding for way too long, causing a concerned glance to come from the ice ninja.

"Your anxiety levels are high," Zane remarked.

"Yeah. I know," Jay was taking deep breaths now, trying to calm himself down.

"Do not worry. Kai will be alright."

"Kai!" Jay exclaimed, suddenly. In his panic, he had completely forgotten about the fire ninja.

He tried to turn around to look back in the direction of the monsters, but there was a weight on his lap keeping him from moving.

"What the..." Jay trailed off as he felt the color drain from his face. Just breathe, this isn't real. This isn't real!

"Jay, he's okay," Cole said, grabbing his shoulder. Jay really hoped he hadn't screamed or anything because they all looked very worried for him. "He just used a lot of power. He'll wake up soon."

Jay merely nodded before trying to look back again. Behind them, he could see both the smoke from the monsters and the smoke from the city. Kai was heading towards both, and that left a sick feeling in his stomach. Well, sicker than he already was. Why were they leaving him? There had to be a reason. Something he missed. One thing he didn't miss, though, was the silhouette of a fire monster creating a giant ball of fire in his hand. Then throwing it at them.

"Guys, watch out!" Jay screamed.

Nya saw it through the rear-view mirrors and swerved out of the way, but the flame was too big. It crashed down right next to the Fire Eater and exploded. The impact from this destroyed the vehicle and the ninja rolled out onto the snow.

Ringing filled his ears as he looked up to see the others, minus Lloyd, all trying to stand back up. Now that they weren't going as fast, the monsters were catching up, and they were left unguarded.

Adrenaline hit Jay hard. Without even knowing, he managed to jump up and run to Lloyd, picking him up and over his shoulder before running to a nearby rock to hide behind. Right under the rock was a small hole that any of the ninja could easily squeeze into and it looked like it led to a cave.

"Guys!" Jay called to them.

Soon, each of the ninja were inside the cave, but it was rather tight in there.

"Scoot over!"

"Ow! Jay! Your elbow's in my face!"

"Sorry."

"Is there even any air left in here?"

"Agh! Cole!"

"There's no room!"

A growl.

"Quiet, everyone. Quiet," Nya said.

It took a few seconds for complete silence to occur, but when it did, no one dared speak. They could see the flames from the monsters rise outside, and the smoke beginning to enter into the cave. It took every ounce of their willpower to keep themselves from coughing. It felt like the monsters were out there forever before they finally decided to keep walking in order to better look. And once they finally did, the ninja wanted to wait a couple seconds before they took any chances.

Finally, they exited the little cave, Lloyd being carried out a soon as possible so he could get some actual air.

The six of them coughed violently for quite a while, leaning on the rock that once protected them before Skylor finally spoke up, sounding rather hoarse, saying, "What do we do now?"

"We have to...find Kai," Nya breathed.

Without an oxygen mask, Kai was stuck outside of the city. He stood, staring at what used to be houses and apartments just yesterday but were now ashes on the ground. There was no sign of plant life or that there had ever been any life here at all. It was a complete wasteland, littered with smoke. Borg Tower stood in the center of it all. So close yet so far away, all because he couldn't get in.

"I could give you a tour if you'd like."

The fire master turned back, startled, to see Flint. Less than six feet away was his enemy, holding out an oxygen mask for the fire ninja to take.

Poison, he thought.

"I assure you, there is no poison in this. I merely wanted to take you out on a walk. It's been so long since you've seen the place you are supposed to protect. I thought it would be good for you," Flint told him.

Kai scoffed in disgust but took the mask anyway. Maybe he could escape once let in. So, he strapped it onto his face and stared at Flint, refusing to say anything.

"Don't worry," Flint continued blankly. "Your silence speaks volumes. You won't be escaping me, though. I can assure you of that."

He watched as the older man, with his own mask strapped on, walked into what was once the city, before following himself.

Flint made sure to keep Kai close, even going as far as having his arm over the fire ninja's shoulder in order to make sure he didn't run off. Kai just let him, not wanting to come across as suspicious.

They spent hours walking through the city and looking at streets Kai had been on with his friends so many times before. The arcade, noodle house, grocery stores, Garmadon and Vinny's apartment, the NGTV News Station, Mystaké's Tea Shop. They were all gone. But what upset Kai the most was the park. So many weekends they had come here to hang out and talk, letting the background noises of kids playing, friend groups chatting, and parties. Now, it wasn't recognizable. All green that had once filled this park was gone. It was a wasteland filled with ash and charcoal. Nothing was left.

He was brought to what was once the very center of the park, where many years ago a funeral had been held for their robotic friend. Where a statue had been placed and dedicated in the ice ninja's honor. Here was where Ninjago had finally come together and agreed on one thing. That the one who gave his life to save them was someone worthy of respect. The city had become a better place here, and Zane's statue had always been a reminder of how it had happened. And even that was gone.

"How dare you," Kai growled, head down.

"Now you see it? The destruction this power can cause? Do you feel what it's like to lose something you hold so dear to your own flames?" Flint asked.

"You're crazy," Kai shook his head, still not looking up.

"Answer the question, fire ninja." It was spoken so calmly, yet it seemed he was about to lose it.

A moment of silence as Kai tried to keep himself from fuming. He wasn't doing a very good job.

Finally, he gave up and looked Flint dead in the eyes, answering the question with one simple word. "Yes."

Flint looked away, as if trying to contemplate this answer.

Then, suddenly, a migraine came. Kai screamed in pain as he fell to the ground, grabbing his head. It was more powerful than anything he had ever experienced.

What the heck? What the heck? What the heck? What the heck? He kept repeating in his mind over and over and over again. It was the only thing he could do so as not to focus on the pain. It felt like his brain was about to explode.

That is just a taste of the pain I felt when no one came to my dear Ember's aid. Not even the master of fire himself.

Kai's eyes shot up as he realized that Flint's voice wasn't coming from Flint. Instead, it was coming from him. Well, his mind anyway. That scared Kai more than anything so far.

"Mind," he struggled to say. He just had to breathe. In and out. In and out.

That would be correct, the older of the two seemed to be enjoying his new power as he refused to open his mouth.

"But...how?" Kai was barely aware of the word's coming out of his own mouth. He was barely aware of his own body. Terror took over as he watched the scene from an outsider's view. It was unreal!

Surely a skilled fighter such as yourself would understand how one like me could acquire this?

While the voice intruding the fire ninja's thoughts was filled with pain and anger, the person in front of him was the definition of calm and collected.

Then aloud, the man said, "You will never understand the pain I feel. The anguish of losing everything all because your problem wasn't great enough to be helped. Of losing your own daughter because of their refusal," he spit in the young ninja's face as he said this, and Kai was pretty sure it wasn't an accident.

Kai didn't even flinch. The migraine began to go away as Flint lost control of his new power, giving Kai the courage to roll his eyes, stand up, and say, "Why are you telling me all this? This isn't even, like, an evil villain plan monologue. Just a boring backstory."

He could barely even finish that sentence before a quick slap to his face was delivered. Honestly, it was rather surprising. While he had definitely endured worse, it felt almost embarrassing.

You don't get it, do you? Flint sounded absolutely disgusted as he regained control of his power. Well I guess it's not surprising. You were always the most clueless of the ninja.

In his anger, Kai delivered a strong punch to the older man's abdomen. Unfortunately for Kai, Flint used the power of earth to take this hit, laughing all the while.

"I was angry too when I first understood your shortcomings. But you are only a child, younger than Ember even. You don't understand the ground beneath your feet. Not yet anyway. But you will. Very soon, in fact."

"Oh really?" Kai asked.

"I may not be a true master of fire, but I know well enough how to control it. If only I had figured this out sooner. Perhaps she would've been saved..." he looked longingly into the flame in his hand as he spoke these words. Kai almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

He paused a moment, waiting for Flint to continue. The older man spoke not a word more.

"How..." Kai trailed off as he tried to find the right words. "How did it happen?"

He thought Flint didn't hear him at first. It took him so long to respond, but finally, he sighed before saying, "She had a beautiful mind. Not I, but she was the one who created our copy of amber. She used this for the good of Metalonia, but some didn't take kindly to this. They started a fire in her home, and she couldn't escape. Everyone in that village called for the ninja's help, but where were they? Playing video games."

Video games? How could they? They would've heard the news or the alarm sounding! They would've been there! How could they be sitting around wasting time while someone was dying? Then, Kai remembered exactly where he was two years ago.

"You mean when we were trying to stop Unagami?" Kai asked. It was all starting to make sense. Many casualties from crimes occurred while the ninja were dealing with bigger issues. It was a known fact throughout all of Ninjago. It was why the ninja always tried to finish their missions as soon as possible.

"I don't care what you were doing. You weren't there," he said through grit teeth.

Kai was angry when he was about to give his response, but all anger dissipated suddenly when a startling image appeared in Kai's mind. It was of the girl, Ember, dead in Flint's arms. Yet, the image was through Flint's eye view. Soot covered her fair skin and horrible burns littered her body. She was young and beautiful, but most importantly, she was gone.

I will soon be joining her, Flint said. You should come too.

In defense, Kai immediately unsheathed his katana and held it out in front of him, ready to fight. Flint responded by causing an explosion of flames to release from him, throwing Kai to the ground and knocking the katana out of his hands to Flint's feet.

"You are very predictable, Fire Ninja," Flint scoffed as he picked up Kai's katana and walked over to him, raising rocks all around so that Kai couldn't get out even if he could get up.

After leaning down next to the master of fire and placing his katana up to his neck, Flint asked, "I wonder who will receive your power once you pass. All your friends already have elemental power and so does your family. I look forward to finding out who you choose."

Kai couldn't help but let out a pitiful whine as Flint placed the full weight from his knee into the fire ninja's back. Kai wasn't sure what he could do except lay there.

"You aren't even going to try to fight back? Huh, and here I was thinking you'd do as you always do. Keep trying, never give up. You disgust me."

The fire ninja was barely conscience as these things were said to him. All he could comprehend was the horrible pain in his head and back. It was so hot too. Why was it so hot? Could it not be a little cooler?

His spark is truly gone?

That, he heard. That thought from Flint sounded as clear as day. He sounded so disappointed, as if he wanted a fight. He wanted Kai to struggle. Well, he wasn't going to give him a struggle. He was not going to struggle any more, that much he decided.

Before Flint could understand the thoughts going through Kai's mind, he took a small flame from the recent explosion Flint caused and threw it at his face, causing Flint to stumble backwards in pain. This allowed Kai to jump onto Flint's shoulders and flip over the raised rocks. Then, he ran. He ran and ran and ran, but Flint always seemed to be right on his tail. No matter how far, how long, and how many twists and turns he took, he was always there. It felt impossible to get this guy off his tail! Then, suddenly, he didn't see Flint anymore. In fact, he wasn't even in the same place anymore! Instead, he was on the new tallest floor of Borg Tower, in an empty room filled with papers and chemical experiments.

"What the...?" Kai trailed off as he looked around the room.

"Hey, fire boy!" a voice from long ago said cheerfully.

Kai looked in the direction of this voice to see none other than Griffin Turner. He had his own oxygen mask on over his face along with some smoke protecting sunglasses so he could keep up with his signature look.

"Where did you come from?" Kai exclaimed happily.

"I heard of the fire in the city and came as fast as I could. Can't believe it got so bad," Griffin replied.

"It really is. That guy I was fighting, Flint, he recreated the element of amber and stole mine, Cole's, and Neuro's power. You have to go! Before he gets yours!" Kai warned.

"Oh please, he'll never catch me!" Griffin laughed.

"Griffin, wait!"

But it was too late. The master of speed was already gone, leaving Kai alone in the most dangerous place in all of Ninjago.

The ninja were back in the Hangar Bay, much to Jay's disappointment. After their snowy adventure, it become quite apparent that they were nowhere near ready to face the fire. They would be no help to Kai if they couldn't even walk in the city, but somehow, Jay felt extremely guilty. Wasn't this just what they were fighting about last night? How the ninja always had to come up with a plan before actually helping anyone? But it was true. They had to wait. They needed to be prepared; something they were trying to save Kai from.

"Did you finish the rest of the suits, Pix?" Lloyd asked as he walked into the room. He had finally awoken hours before and told Pixal to get new suits for them, but Master Wu had sent him to a strict resting period until only ten minutes ago.

"Of course," Pixal answered with a smile. Seven was hovering right behind. "Are you ready, Seven?" Pixal asked.

The MiniPix chirped in response as it hovered over to something big with a tarp covering it.

"May I present: your new fireproof suits," Pixal announced as Seven threw the tarp off, revealing seven suits. Each had special armor covering regular cloth used for any suit. The armor was black and slimmer than expected while the hoods had a clear visor to protect the eyes along with oxygen masks. And, unlike the suits given to Jay and Kai before, these suits were made with metal so the fire couldn't damage them.

"Most impressive," Zane praised as he noticed this.

Pixal smiled deeply upon receiving this compliment, but became distracted when Skylor said, "Is this for me?"

The female nindroid turned to see the redhead was examining on orange colored suit that appeared to be her size.

"Of course," Pixal responded, noticing the look of awe on the master of amber's face. "There will always be a suit for you here."

Skylor gave Pixal a small smile, and soon enough, each ninja was dressed in their new suits.

"Is everyone ready?" Lloyd asked the group.

They were all boarded on new vehicles Pixal had created for this mission. Cole received a fireproof car, Lloyd and Zane jets, Jay and Nya received hover boards, and Skylor was given a brand-new bike similar to Kai's old one he brought to their date in the city.

"You bet!" Cole exclaimed.

"Let's go!" said Skylor.

"Alright. Are you sure you wanna stay, Pix?" Lloyd asked.

"Someone must tend to the people," was Pixal's response.

"Okay then. Let's go."

With that, the ninja were off, leaving Pixal and Seven to work with the people as best as they could.

The master of fire had looked everywhere for something useful in defeating Flint. Through files in drawers, books littered around the room, behind paintings for secret passageways, he even almost drank one of the bottles of chemicals to see if it would do anything before realizing he was probably going crazy. There was nothing.

"How can there be nothing useful in here?" Kai complained. He leaned against a desk in the center of the room and accidentally knocked over a cup onto the floor. When he bent down to pick it back up again, he noticed something under the desk. He picked it up to see that it was a black notebook that looked unlike any book used at Borg Industries. Kai opened this up to the first page and read the words, "Flint and Ember Lockwood: The New Masters of Amber: Journal Log.

"Day 1: Today my daughter, Ember, and I are beginning our experiment in hopes of becoming masters of amber. With this power, we will be able to better help our proud city of Metalonia, and our research may even help to bring peace to the entirety of Ninjago."

Kai flipped a few pages.

"Day 152: Our experiment was finally a success. My daughter and I have officially become masters of amber. It took much trial and error, but we've finally made it. With the powers we will soon possess, I'm sure we will bring peace."

"Day 3,670: It was nearly two weeks ago that my journal was stolen, along with all our research we've collected over the past ten years. Ember went out with her absorbed power of metal and recovered it all, bringing it safely back home, but if she had only found the thief a moment later, he would've created his own power of amber, bringing chaos to all Ninjago. Because of this, I've decided to burn all research and evidence of ever recreating the element of amber. There will be peace."

"Day ?: Ember's words: My father wishes to burn all our work over the past ten years. If he succeeds, I'll make sure that at the very least this journal will make it through."

Kai flipped to another page. Then another, but nothing was there. That was until he reached the final page in the book.

"Fire is a powerful thing, but like all things, it can be put out. Long ago, Flint told me that if one of his fires were to get out of control, to go to the place where water is prominent. There, you will find what gives life to all.

"To whoever finds this, I wish you the best.

"Sarah."

Kai read and reread Sarah's message, especially taking interest in "where water is prominent" and "what brings life to all."

"Water. Brings life to all," Kai read aloud. The solution was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't figure it out. "Water...brings life...The water that restores life!" Kai exclaimed. It was an old legend back in his hometown of Ignacia. It was said that it could heal those who were pure of heart. Nya claimed to have found it so she could heal Kai of a serious illness when they were living on their own, but Kai never believed her. Maybe the legend was actually true.

Suddenly, a crash sounded behind the fire ninja. He turned around to see that the fire monsters had found him, and seeing their enemy with that notebook did not make them happy.

Kai groaned inwardly to himself. He really didn't feel like dealing with any more burns. He would find that water soon enough, though. He'd live. Just gotta stop being so dramatic, he told himself.

"You want this?" the fire ninja asked, waving the notebook above his head. "Come and get it!"

The monsters roared as they ran at the fire elemental, and he unsheathed his katanas as he ran at them. While one monster tried to punch down over his head, Kai side stepped and sliced through that same monster's fist. It didn't do anything!

"Ugh!" Kai yelled, but just then, he noticed a blast of fire coming at him fast through his peripheral vision. He ducked just in time for this to miss and it crashed into the wall, destroying the opening to a vent so that the door fell down.

Multiple fire balls were shot at the fire ninja, but he managed to expertly dodge these before jumping into the vent, leaving the monsters confused and nervous about who was going to be the one to tell their master they lost the fire ninja.

Flint was slow to walk through the city, slow to walk through the Borg Industries lobby, and especially slow to walk up those many stairs. It took him hours to get to his desired destination on the now top floor, in his new office. He sat down in a nice, black swivel chair and placed his hands in his head. The pressure from leaning into his hands ever so slightly helped that pounding headache to pound just a little less. The effects from using the power of mind were surely getting to him, and he was tired.

He barely had five minutes to himself when a fire monster entered the room and stood above his master, seemingly angry.

"I take it you failed to capture the fire ninja?" Flint asked.

The monster grumbled quietly, as if embarrassed.

Flint looked up from the palm of his hand, not allowing a smile nor frown to come to his face. But, his tone did soften as he said, "Don't you worry, my child. We will have him in due time. Just let me rest, and we'll come up with a plan soon. Something that will really upset the fire ninja."

And that's the end of the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed. I'm going to have a lot more free time during the month of November, so hopefully I can get at least a few more chapters out during then.

Have a great day/night!

#God'sNotDead