It was twilight when Garmadon woke up. He was groggy, confused, and swaying in one of the many hammocks hanging in the musty barracks. As soon as his senses returned to him, he could tell that he wasn’t alone. Someone was watching him from the corner of the room, and once he realised that, pure unbridled anger began to swell.
In one frantic motion, he was on his feet, his hand deathly close to the throat of his brother.
“You…” he seethed, his red eyes beginning to burn. “…How could you…?” His grip tightened. “It’s always you! Always messing things up!”
Wu watched him calmly, trying to keep his jaw steady and his eyes set forward. “I did what I had to.”
“Did what you had to—did what you had to!!? I have to save my son from those monsters!!”
“And I have to keep my students safe from the IBI!!” Wu countered, eyebrows knitted together in a pained sort of way. “Don’t you dare think for a second that I didn’t want to help Lloyd too.”
“Oh, I dare to think, Wu,” said Garmadon, his tone getting deathly low. “…perfect little Wu… you always do whatever you want… nothing’s changed.”
Wu’s eyes twitched. Not with strain or anger or frustration… but from the thin layer of water beginning to build in his glassy, bright blue eyes. The very same eyes he’d had since he was a child. His heart felt heavy and his chest felt tight, but he said nothing.
Perhaps it was because of that silence that Garmadon finally lost control and struck him across the face.
Then he did it again.
And again.
And again.
Until Wu’s nose was running red. Still, the old master did nothing in retaliation.
“You’ve always been spoiled!” Garmadon spat. “You don’t know what it’s like! To be cursed! To have a son!! …a son you know you’ll never be able to love…” Garmadon’s breathing became suddenly heavy as he leaned against the wall. “You’ve always had it easy…”
Wu gingerly wiped his nose, not meeting his brother’s gaze.
“You genuinely believe you can fix everything, don’t you? Don’t you?!”
Wu still didn’t look at him.
His brother moved over and grabbed his collar. “SAY SOMETHING, DANG IT!!!”
Blood still running, and a single stream of water dripping from his eye as moonlight began to shine through the window, Wu watched his manic brother and said, “…I… have only ever tried… to do what I thought was right… to be like you used to be…”
Garmadon pressed his lips together as hard as he could, fighting off his own wave of unbridled emotion, before letting out a gut wrenching yell and slamming Wu back into the corner where he had found him and marching away. “You’re insane.”
Wu sat, bent over his knees, in the darkness of the barracks, all alone. He didn’t blame his brother for being angry, not one tiny bit. If the roles were reversed, he probably would have acted out in a similar way. But regardless of how much his face hurt, regardless of how much his heart ached for the well-being of his nephew, he still stood by his decision. If they’d turned back so that Garmadon could reach Lloyd, or even if they’d stayed a little longer, the IBI undoubtedly would have captured them, and they had already let that happen once before—never again. It had been an extremely close call. If those lab-coat-wearing maniacs ever found out what these kids truly were… and he was getting older every day. Soon enough, there would be no more rescue missions, no more close calls. Just casualties. And he’d made too many promises already. Too many times he’d stared into the face of a worried parent and assured them that he would do everything in his power to keep their child safe. Yes, one could make the accusation that he’d brought this upon himself, and one would be correct… but that still didn’t change the fact that this was the reality he was facing. While he still had strength, he was going to do his best to help as many people as he could, even if those multiple interests conflicted from time to time.
Garmadon would never see it that way, though. He couldn’t. Firstly, because the venom flowing through his veins clouded his mind from seeing things in any other way besides his own self interest, and secondly… because he was a father. Wu was certain that if he’d done nothing, Garmadon would have destroyed that entire fleet with his bare hands to get back to his son. But that would mean a lot of people would have been killed or stranded at sea as a result, and then Wu and the kids would have “accomplice to murder” on their records, and everything would have just become an even bigger mess than it already was.
Wu’s head hung lower. He was getting too old for this. He could feel it, not just in his bones, but in his soul. He’d been alive for far too long. He had seen too much—had done too much—and now he just felt unbearably heavy from the weight of it all.
If only he had the power to stop the Serpentine all on his own—to be able to send the children back home where they’d be safe, and not have to worry about the fate of the world all the time. But, pathetic as it was, he needed their help. Perhaps if he had been younger, things would be different, but as it stood now…
He wished… he wished his father were still alive to handle all of this. He would know what to do. He always had the right answer. He was always there for his sons and Ninjago, no matter how bad things became.
“…Father…” he whispered into the night. “…please… give me wisdom… and give me strength… I need your help… I need you…”
*
Kai heard the yell from downstairs and instantly broke away from his training session with the guys.
“Kai!” Cole snapped at him, remembering how Wu had said to finish their training before doing anything else that night.
“That sounded like Garmadon,” Kai said over his shoulder. “I’m just gonna check.”
Sure enough, the Lord of Darkness himself came rampaging up the corridor when Kai went below deck, however this time, he neglected to say anything snarky and simply pushed passed the red ninja. Wouldn’t say a thing. It looked as though he was going to the deck to cool off.
Kai turned toward the barracks and hesitantly approached. He could just hear the sound of a voice—very quiet and muffled—but one that sounded something like Wu.
Slowly, he pressed his hand to the wood of the door and inched it open, revealing the blue-black darkness of a room which had just born witness to a fight. When the door was open wide enough, he spotted Wu standing up in one of the corners, swiping at his face.
“Sensei…” said Kai, taking a step forward. “Are you…?”
“Fine,” he said, swallowing. He was trying to hide half of his face, but Kai could clearly see the stain of blood on his white moustache.
“What did he do?” Kai instantly asked, hardening his expression.
“I said… I’m fine.” Wu straightened and adjusted his robe collar. “Garmadon just needs time to himself. To think. To breathe. To recenter.”
“This is about earlier today, isn’t it?” Kai had seen Wu carrying a limp Garmadon to the barracks and had heard more about the story on the deck from Jay and Cole. He couldn’t exactly say he felt sorry for the old warlord, or his snot-nosed son. Right now, the only thing on his mind was the beaten-up state of his teacher. “And you’re just gonna let him get away with it?”
“Kai,” said Wu sternly. “There is much you still do not know. Please. Leave this be. Everything will be fine.”
Kai couldn’t believe his ears. Here was his Sensei, bleeding from the nose after having a fight with his evil brother, and everything was supposed to be fine? The more he thought about it, the more he just felt hatred for that no-good slime-ball of a person, Garmadon. Showing up here, acting like a snobnoxious jerk, bullying his little brother—everyone kept telling him to stay out of it, to leave it in Wu’s hands, and that everything would be fine—but nothing felt fine. It felt like they were all just barely struggling to keep things together, both figuratively and literally, and that they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. If he didn’t do something to help soon, he was going to break something.
“But… thank you for being concerned, young Kai,” said Wu quietly. “Now, go. Back to your training drills.”
Wu remained down in the barracks and Garmadon stood at the bow of the ship, glaring at the ocean. They had weighed anchor a decent ways away from the mainland, far enough that you’d have to be an Olympic athlete to swim the distance, which perhaps was done intentionally.
Kai eyed Garmadon as he finished his drills. He just stood there, staring over the horizon. What sort of twisted evil schemes was he plotting in that malicious brain of his?
“And that’s two hundred,” Cole finished, sounding barely winded. “Alright, Zane’s on first watch.”
“What a day…” Jay mumbled as they started making their way downstairs.
“Kai?” Cole called back to him, noticing how he was lingering, head turned just slightly in Garmadon’s direction.
“Coming,” he replied.
The ship was gently rocking in the calm nighttime breeze. Stars only appeared in brief patches as bits of cloud moved overhead. That didn’t really matter much, though, as Kai went below deck.
He thought he’d quickly check on Nya before hitting the hay and delicately knocked on the door to the girls’ room. No answer. So he peeked inside and what should he find but three hammocks all right next to each other, forming one giant hammock with three girls inside, fast asleep. He allowed himself a single smile and shut the door.
*
The Serpentine were in a state. They had made landfall a few hours ago and were still arguing about what should be done about the missing Fang Blade.
“I s-s-say we gut them!!! Run them clean through!!” Scales was yelling.
“And how—
“—would you propose—“
“—we do that!?” Fangtom countered, both heads glaring at the other snake.
“The humans gather in numbers greater than what the ancient tablets recollect,” added Acidicus.
“Just track them down!” Skalidor bellowed. “Kill the humans! Kill them all!”
“Gentlesnakes!” Pythor called, looking as though a vein was threatening to pop through his scales. “In case it has escaped your notice, the whole point of releasing Anguis is so that we can end humanity!!! There’s no point expending energy fighting with them unless it can be avoided. Besides, the more attention we attract, the more forceful their efforts will be, and need I remind you of all the new weapons they have invented since our imprisonment?!”
“But s-s-so then what are we meant to do!?” Scales wailed.
Finally, mercifully, the room was quiet and Pythor scratched his purple chin. Then, he spotted Lloyd sitting not too far away and recalled that moment at the boat when he had spotted the ninjas’ ship and became all at once very stoic. “That’s my father,” he had said. Wu had found Garmadon and employed his help. Troubling indeed… if one was an ignorant fool given to panic.
“My fellow chiefs,” Pythor began, clearing his throat. “This can all be quite easily remedied. We will continue to the third Fang Blade, as planned.”
“But what good are the Fang Blades—“
“—if we do not have all of them?” Asked Fangtom pointedly.
“All in good time, my duplicitous friend. All in good time.”
Lloyd listened from his corner. Well, tried to listen, anyway. Words were sometimes… difficult to listen to and understand these days. He couldn’t explain it. All he knew was that his head had begun to feel heavier and heavier each and every day, like it was being filled with fluff, and it was keeping him from focusing properly on anything. He wasn’t even sure if what he’d seen on the boat had been his father, or just a shadow. Or the whole memory could just as easily be a dream…
He sat there and breathed deeply, bouncing his leg and staring off into space. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He didn’t want to think. Thinking just made everything worse. Made him feel things he didn’t want to feel. Like those voices he kept on hearing.
‘You need to get out of here—’
‘Stay and help make humanity pay!’
He clutched at his head as though he had a headache, trying not to let on to the others what was really going on. It was like Pythor had said, he didn’t want the Serpentine to think he was going crazy. He was fine, these voices would surely go away after a while, right? Or perhaps, if he just tried hard enough, he could block them out.
Everyone seemed to be moving toward sleep for the night, and so, with his eyes on the floor, Lloyd trudged over to a nice, dark little spot and curled up all by himself. It was cold here on the dirty floor, but he didn’t seem to mind. It was fine.
Going to sleep proved more difficult each night, as he already felt like he was asleep half the time anymore. He just drifted, in and out, listening to strange sounds echo through the tunnels.
Through the many, warped, dark thoughts floating around in his subconscious, something different came to him that night. Quite unexpectedly, he saw a vision of a very familiar place.
He recognised the little path, leading through the front garden, and the old door with the flower wreath on it. The inside was full of sunlight and comfy places to sit and pretty things to look at. Especially her. In the dream, he ran up to his mother and gave her a big hug around the legs. Then she scooped him up and hugged him tightly, pecking him on the top of his messy, blonde head.
There was dinner in the oven, and a pie resting on the windowsill. They could play together for a little while until it was time to eat. Just the two of them. Here, alone, together, in this little house. He was safe now. He was happy.
With the sudden sound of a rock falling, Lloyd’s eyes opened.
Oh… so it had only been a dream…
Well, maybe, if he just closed his eyes again and thought really hard, he could make it happen again. Re-enter the dream, just like how it was. Even if just for a little bit. It had been a very nice dream.
*
The following day started with the unfortunate news that Nya had also gotten sick and would be spending a lot more quality time with Ann and Keaton. This came as no surprise, but it did mean that sooner or later, they could all find themselves in Sick Town, so they’d better wash their hands and keep their distance for the time being.
Garmadon refused to speak to anyone for a long time. Least of all, Wu.
Their original plan had been to keep the one Fang Blade they had out of the Serpentine’s reach, but… after last night’s argument, plans seemed to have changed. They had now set a course for land.
Wu explained to them all that the next, most likely target would be the Fire Temple. The very same temple which used to house the Sword of Fire. Hidden within a secret chamber there, one of the four Fang Blades was hidden. Whether it truly was the Serpentine’s next target or not, sooner or later, they’d come looking for it, and that’s what they were counting on. Their top priority now was rescuing Lloyd. Things got a little tricky, though, when they finally made landfall.
Upon arrival, they realised that it would be pretty darn tricky traveling across country with three very sick teammates (one in particular) and so a very heavy decision was made.
Sensei Wu said that he would remain behind to care for the girls while Garmadon and the boys would continue to the Fire Temple, alone. Well… not entirely alone. For this mission, and only this mission, Wu was authorising the use of the Golden Weapons. He handed them out to the boys, one by one, telling them only to use them when absolutely necessary, and to sleep with one eye open at all times. Then he came to Kai.
In a low voice, he said, “Kai… while I am not present… I need you to keep an eye on my brother for me.” Kai’s eyebrow shot up. “Do not do anything foolish, simply… be as vigilant as you have been these last few days and report your findings to Cole.”
“Yes, sir,” Kai nodded, suddenly feeling as though his paranoia wasn’t so pointless after all.
“I mean it, Kai. Nothing foolish,” Wu reiterated.
“I understand,” he said seriously. “Report to Cole. Got it.”
Garmadon was already starting forward, though, so Wu made his final remarks brief. “Stick with him, and do try to be patient. Look out for each other.”
“Yes, sir,” said Cole, and with the Scythe of Quakes still bundled up tight and strapped to his back, he took off into the tree-covered cliffs where they had landed, the other boys following him. Wu watched them for a long time, his chest feeling unbearably strained. He could think of a million different ways in which this could go wrong, but he also couldn’t deny the practicality of keeping the girls in a place where they could rest and recover faster.
Speaking of which, he ought to go check on them.
*
Garmadon was fast, but not fast enough to outrun four spry teenagers. Kai did as he was asked and didn’t let the old man out of his sight for even a second.
They were cutting across the country, as per usual, but thanks to all their training, their endurance had risen by a significant amount. Even when they had to drop into the snowy grass to avoid being seen by a passing car along a dirt road or had to cut across a freezing creek or a river, they barely needed to catch their breath.
The Fire Temple was a substantial way inland, so they’d chosen the path of least resistance through Chun Prefecture. It was mostly fields and light woods just above sea level for a good few miles, but the snow was still a pain. Chun was one of the Northern prefectures known for its snowy climate, but at least it wasn’t as bad here as it was during their hike into the mountains, or as bad as the most Northern prefecture, Balam, which saw an average snowfall of one-hundred-and-ninety-one inches annually.
Kai was glad that they rarely stopped running, though. The sweat and his racing heart kept him from ever really feeling cold.
Garmadon remained as silent as the grave throughout their first day of travel, and when they made camp for the night, all huddled around the campfire that Kai had made, he simply stared off into space for a solid hour. Kai was almost glad that he was the first one up for sentry duty, and kept his eyes peeled for signs of suspicious movement from the old warlord.
“You’re going to let your eyeballs freeze if you keep them open that long,” said Garmadon quietly. The first thing he’d said in a long while. He was probably getting annoyed with how much Kai was staring at him.
“They’ll stay warm just fine,” he replied, keeping his voice equally as low so as not to wake the others.
“Fire breathers…” Garmadon muttered.
Kai frowned. “You say that like you’ve met one before.”
“I had the displeasure of meeting your grandfather, more times than I care to recollect. And unfortunately, the cherry doesn’t fall far from its blossom.” He sent a bored-sort-of-glare in Kai’s direction. “Arrogant, headstrong, stubborn—you two would get along like a house on fire.”
Kai shifted where he sat. He knew very little about his grandfather, only what Wu had said once in passing. He’d never really come up in conversation when he was a kid (at least, not that he could remember). He didn’t even know what the man looked like. But apparently, he was a fire elemental, just like Kai.
For one, fleeting moment, he thought about asking Garmadon if this whole “powers” thing was as genetic as he thought it was (specifically, he was wondering if his father would have likely possessed the same affinity for pyrokinesis) but then he remembered who he was talking to. As if Garmadon would give him a straight answer. Right. Sure.
Just then, Garmadon turned to him. He didn’t say anything, he just kept looking at him.
“Do you have to keep staring?” Kai asked, getting creeped out.
“Do you?” Garmadon countered.
“Yeah, actually, I do. I’m on sentry duty.”
“And you’re worried that I’ll steal away your precious Golden Weapons,” he concluded, folding all four of his long arms.
“Can you blame me?”
Garmadon paused. “Fair enough.”
“But just so you know,” said Kai, feeling a twinge of anger flicker in his chest. “If you double cross us—if you try to hurt any of my friends—I will kill you.”
Garmadon, though… he just breathed a laugh out of his nose and resumed staring off into space.
Soon, it was time to switch out sentries, and Kai reluctantly tried to get some rest.
He was awake early the next morning for his second shift, where he found Garmadon asleep and the fire running a little low. No weapons were missing, and all teammates were accounted for, so he decided to collect more fire wood. He dried it out a bit, and then added it to the pile of embers. After a while, though, the sun began to rise, and once it was up, so was everyone else.
Day two had begun. The day they were supposed to reach the Fire Temple.
“So,” said Jay after the first hour of running. They were approaching the first mountain ridge. “Is anyone else severely creeped out by having to camp with that guy in the middle of the woods, or is it just me?”
“Nope, you’re not alone,” said Kai, eyeing the black figure ahead of them.
“I kept getting this odd feeling in the night. Like he was going to jump us while we slept,” Zane shivered, which was never a good sign.
“And all this to save one kid,” Jay went on, sounding tired. “Never thought we’d end up here.”
“Come on, guys, ease up on the gossip, would you?” Cole swivelled his head around to frown at them properly. “We can complain about the mission after we save that little gremlin.”
It was late into the afternoon when they got their first glimpse of the temple. Just as bold and intimidating as the first time they’d been here, which only served to remind Kai of one very penetrating sword fight. How ironic that he would return to that same place with the very man who tried to run him through all those months ago.
Stealth became their top priority. It was unclear if the Serpentine had beaten them here, so they needed to approach from the side, using the rocks along the ridges for cover. Garmadon didn’t stop to tell them any of this, of course, he just went ahead and started moving like a black jaguar over the volcanic rocks.
“Does he ever stop?” Jay whispered at one point.
So far, so quiet. Although, the closer they got, the more Kai could feel the raw power of the molten rock, gurgling beneath their feet. It was different from the first time, when he’d only just begun to use his powers. Now, every breath he took brought with it the sting of heat. It was actually somewhat invigorating.
They were at the side of the temple now, and still nothing had happened.
Garmadon suddenly called, “You there, dirt breather. Open a way inside.”
Keeping himself from reacting very poorly to that choice nickname, Cole came over and felt the cool stone wall, letting his senses plunge into it until he found the nearest room in the temple to barge into. After three large chunks of earth were removed, their pathway lay clear.
But suddenly, the ground gave a shudder.
“Cole?” Jay asked nervously.
“Wasn’t me,” he said, looking around.
“It’s the volcano,” Kai realised as Garmadon started into the tunnel without them. “It’s active. And I don’t think it likes being messed with right now.”
“We should keep our elemental powers to a minimum, then,” said Zane as they all hurried inside.
“Well that’s great,” Jay wailed sarcastically.
The first major room they came across was empty, and so was the second. Their only source of light was the fire in Kai’s hand, leaving the hallways feeling more like cave tunnels as they pressed ahead. When they caught their first glimpse of life, they slowed to a tip-toe. Wu had shown them all how to tread lightly, avoiding squeaky boards in the floor to the best of their ability. Their padded ninja shoes helped as well.
Garmadon still refused to communicate with them, and the boys didn’t exactly feel welcome to ask something, like, “where do you think the dagger’s hidden?” So they went on tentatively following the old man. Kai was more concerned about keeping Garmadon at arm’s length, however, given the fact that he still had the Sword of Fire strapped to his back. He wasn’t particularly concerned about what happened to the Fang Blade, or the Fire Temple, or Garmadon himself. As long as his brothers were safe, that’s all that mattered.
The building rumbled.
Kai felt his lungs were breathing in twice the amount of air as he felt the powerful tug of heat all around him. Was this what it felt like when Ann was by the ocean? Or when Jay was in a storm? He might describe it as feeling lightheaded. Specifically, the kind of lightness you feel after shedding a heavy load from your back. When you feel taller and stronger.
They were getting closer to the lit room now, and then—
BANG!!
…
BANG!!
Kai couldn’t see what was going on, and then, very suddenly, Garmadon leapt up and scaled the wall until he was up in the rafters, pressing ahead like a shadow. Kai looked at the wall. Wu hadn’t quite yet taught them about this, but… it looked easy enough.
He took a bit of a running start and planted his feet in the most strategic places he could find. To his amazement, he was actually going up, but when he was nearing the top, he reached out to grab the nearest support beam and… just sort of hung there. After much strain, he pulled himself up, but it was not one of his more graceful moments. The others took similar awkward paths up to join him and then they began chasing after their fearless “leader.”
Hiding in the rafters, they could now safely look down at the scene below them. It was the Serpentine alright. They were already here, and trying to break down a large door with a battering ram. The Fang Blade had to be on the other side.
Then—
BANG!!!
The door swung open and the Serpentine cheered. There weren’t very many of them, but as the ninja soon discovered, this wasn’t the only entrance into what appeared to be a large chamber filled with waterfalls of lava. They crept closer and saw a tall pedestal in the centre of the room, displaying a bright silver Fang Blade. Slithering up to it, a purple snake. Behind him? A young boy covered in green scales.
Garmadon jumped down and charged ahead like an angry rhinoceros. Kai didn’t know what else to do but follow him, crashing rather than landing on the ground below. When he got up, Garmadon was yelling,
“ANACONDRAI!!!” With a rumble from the volcano and a wave of his hand, the few Serpentine that were standing in front of him turned to dust and vanished. “RELEASE THE BOY AT ONCE!!!”
Every slitted eye in the room was watching him, until Pythor made to grab Lloyd by the shoulder and brought him closer. “And who might you be?” He asked.
“I AM…” Garmadon faltered. “I’m his father. And you would be wise to let go of him before I send you to join your ancestors.”
From this distance, Kai couldn’t really make out the finer details, but he thought he could see Pythor smiling. Lloyd, though… Lloyd didn’t look like himself at all. The last time he’d seen him, he was just a regular kid, but now… his skin was blotchy and green, he had fangs, his hair was growing down to his neck, and he looked almost as though he was about to stumble over his own feet. Like he was in a daze.
“Well, then, Lloyd. What do you have to say to your dear old dad? Hmm?” Pythor asked, looking in the boy’s direction.
The ground shook again as he stared with sunken eyes at his father. “I’d say, make yourself useful and jump in the lava.”
“Ooh, my my my, such tension!” Pythor exclaimed. “I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the fact that you abused him, abandoned him, pawned him off onto someone else—“
“SILENCE!!!” Garmadon shrieked. “I AM THAT BOY’S FATHER AND HE’S COMING WITH ME!!!”
“Well, Lloyd?” Pythor asked, getting very close to his ear.
“I don’t think so,” he replied, and he took a step closer to where Garmadon and the boys stood. With a mighty battle cry, Lloyd summoned a cloud of purple smoke that nearly filled the whole room. It swirled and stormed angrily before his pale hands until he sent it flying at them, intending to snuff them out permanently. Kai flinched, not knowing what to expect, when the cloud suddenly dispersed around him. Garmadon had all four arms outstretched and was diverting the attack. It did, however, hit the walls around them, making the structure of the Fire Temple begin to creak and groan. Some rather large pieces were already beginning to fall to the ground in a broken heap.
*
Wu passed out another round of soup for the girls. Keaton was looking much better today, and would probably fully recover by tomorrow, but Nya was only getting worse, and Ann… she remained as she was. Tired and weak. Periodically, he would give her more vials of the gold liquid to help her along, but it would still be a while before she was ready to fight again. She had always been rather committed to the cause, whatever it happened to be. Ever since… ever since her brother.
She had been relatively young when it happened, but… she blamed herself. It was that day which caused her to throw herself into her training with upmost seriousness and dedication. She would often hurt herself in the process, requiring weeks at times to recover. Wu supposed that it the only way she knew how to cope.
He closed the door to their room and went to collect any other dirty dishes from the boys’ barracks to wash or throw out when he felt an odd fear come to him. Something small. A nagging feeling. Like there was something he ought to check on. He looked around the room as he collected the trash and spied his satchel in the corner. The last place he’d left the Fang Blade. It was probably nothing, just an old man’s paranoia… or… was it?
He gave in and went to just take a peak. He tried to reassure himself that everything was probably fine, but when he pulled back that flap and saw the empty satchel, he inwardly cursed. Garmadon.
*
“STOP!!!” Garmadon yelled as he pushed back the last of the smoke. When the air was clear, he jumped down to the nearest pool of lava, locking eyes with Pythor. From his robes he produced a single, small dagger. “Return my son or I drop this Fang Blade and you lose it forever.”
Pythor had his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder instantly. “Hey, what are you—?!” He tried to say, but the snake cut him off.
“Be silent!” He hissed.
Up near the room entrance, Kai was discreetly pulling out his sword, preparing for the worst. Of course Garmadon had stolen the other Fang Blade—why hadn’t he been paying closer attention!? That idiot was going to get them all killed! There was no way that Lloyd’s life was worth risking all of Ninjago to a giant demon snake. Kai inched closer, but refrained from jumping down into the horde of snakes. He gripped his still-wrapped sword, ready to do whatever it took to stop Garmadon, or Pythor, or whoever, so long as it meant stopping the end of the world.
Up near the pedestal, Pythor was still thinking. “No tricks?” He asked.
“No tricks,” Garmadon replied. “My son for the blade.”
Lloyd whipped around to face the snake. “Pythor… y-you wouldn’t…” The snake eyed him carefully, and Lloyd began to breathe hard. “Say no!”
“I said, be silent!” Pythor snapped again, and he slithered himself around Lloyd until he was wrapped up in purple coils that covered his mouth. “Alright. But no tricks. Or else… he goes into the lava too.” Lloyd’s eyes went horrifyingly wide.
The two started toward the other, Garmadon with the Fang Blade, Pythor with Lloyd, all the while Kai watched, aghast, from the sidelines.
“Kai, don’t do anything stupid,” Cole suddenly said, one of his large hands pressed firmly against Kai’s chest.
“You know we can’t just let this happen,” he said quickly, watching as their window of opportunity slowly closed. “We have to do something!”
“Kai—KAI!!!”
His hand grasped cold metal and the power of the Sword of Fire shot through him, feeding his anger. He jumped high into the air and with a slash of his sword, sent a rush of flames right between the two parties. Pythor backed away quickly as he landed, the other ninja jumping down after him.
“NO ONE IS GETTING THAT FANG BLADE!!!” He yelled, and the whole room shook and lava spluttered and rocks fell from the ceiling.
“STAY OUT OF THIS, FIRE BREATHER!!!” Garmadon yelled back, looking as though he wanted to strangle him, or throw him into the pool of molten rock.
“You give him that blade and you risk starting the apocalypse!” The sword in Kai’s hands felt hot, like it had so much more power to unleash. “No one person’s life is worth that.”
Garmadon’s face hardened as he glared at Kai.
Cole, Jay, and Zane were at his side now, each prepared to pull out their own Golden Weapon, and all of them glaring back at Garmadon.
The mountain rumbled again.
“Kai…” said Garmadon in a deep, low voice. “Put. The sword. Down.”
“Not until you give us the blade,” he countered, his sword held high.
Meanwhile Pythor eyed both of them curiously.
The moment some of the Fangpyres tried to slither forward, Garmadon stopped them cold with a single look and a smoking, purple fist. In that moment, when he was distracted, Kai leapt into action.
He swung his sword, aiming it at Garmadon’s hand and knocking the blade clear into the air. It landed a distance away, on a rock, as a crack opened up in the ceiling and an explosion of lava burst into the room. Kai ran after it, using the sword to push back any Serpentine who dared try and stop him as Cole and Jay ran after him.
In the chaos, Pythor slithered up to the podium and grabbed the Fire Temple’s Fang Blade, but when he tried to get away, he was confronted by Garmadon. Before he could use any of his destructive power, the snake tossed Lloyd across the room, landing with a painful THUD on the hard stone.
“LLOYD!!” He called as Pythor slipped away with the rest of the Serpentine, evacuating the premises.
More and more lava filled the room, pooling onto the floor, heating up the air until it was getting difficult to breathe. Kai was so close to the blade, though. It was just a few feet away—and that’s when a familiar scaly face appeared. Or, should I say, half a face.
Scales’ lopsided, half-burned face grinned maliciously as he curled his fingers around the hilt, but Cole’s first instinct was not to hold anything back. He launched a cannon of a rock at his face, knocking him back so hard that the he and the blade were sent flying.
“COLE!!” Kai cried angrily. Where had the dagger gone? He looked around for it, but just then, the floor at their feet began to crack.
“Anyone else feeling like WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE?!” Jay yelled as lava started oozing around them. Then, when the cracks didn’t form quick enough, the bright yellow molten goop started exploding like deadly geysers.
“NOT UNTIL WE HAVE THE FANG BLADE!!!” Kai yelled still looking for it.
“NO!! I AM NOT ABOUT TO LET YOU KILL YOURSELF!!!” Cole had his hand gripped around Kai’s shirt, but he refused to abandon this mission. He burned off that part of his shozoku and summoned a lava geyser. When it cracked open the ground, Cole was forced to grab Jay and run to safety. Kai stood right where he was, though. The heat didn’t really bother him. Actually, he’d never felt more alive.
All of this chaos, though, as the volcano began to slowly erupt, made it rather difficult for Garmadon to reach his son. Lloyd was laying on a large island now, surrounded by deep rivers of lava, and Garmadon couldn’t figure out how to reach him.
That’s when Zane came up behind him. “The volcano’s erupting! We need to get out of here!”
“DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?!” Garmadon snarled. “USE YOUR ICE TO GET US ACROSS!! NOW!!!”
Zane looked over at Lloyd and dutifully did as he was asked, but alarmingly, every time he shot out a blast of ice, he found that it either came out as vapour, or, whenever he did manage to get solid ice to form, it cracked and exploded under the extreme heat. He was powerless here.
“WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU!? YOUR FATHER COULD DO THIS IN HIS SLEEP!!” Right then, though, another geyser went off, prompting them to fall back and duck for cover. That’s when they ran into Cole and Jay who grabbed them and started making for the exit. “UNHAND ME YOU CRETINOUS LITTLE—!!” Garmadon cried, but Cole wasn’t wasting any time.
“Get out of here!!!” He yelled as he threw them into the outside hall. “I’ll go back for—!”
Another huge quake shook the ground and the whole entrance crumbled around him. He barely jumped out of the way in time.
*
Back inside, Kai was still searching for that Fang Blade.
There it was! Up on that ledge! He jumped from stone island to stone island, feeling the lava singe his clothes as it rose steadily higher, and its heat caressed his skin like he was at the center of an oven. He started to scale the wall, trying to reach the darn blade, when he heard a voice.
“Hello!?”
Was there still somebody in here?
“Help! Please!”
Kai turned around and searched for the owner of the voice. He found him lying on a rock amidst the sea of fire. Lloyd. He looked weak and would probably succumb to the gasses and heat before being swallowed up by the lava.
“Please!” He wailed again, audibly crying. “Help!”
Kai looked back up at the Fang Blade, wondering if he had time, when who should appear over him but Pythor himself. He was reaching his scaly hand down toward the blade from a higher ledge, and when Kai caught his eye, he smiled a toothy grin.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” he said politely.
Kai made to grab the dagger again, but then Lloyd cried out, “Kai!! Please!!!” If he didn’t act now, the boy would die. That much, he was sure of. He looked back up at Pythor, inches away from nabbing the blade, and set his jaw so hard that he felt as though he chipped a tooth.
He pushed himself away from the ledge with a blast of fire (hopefully it burned Pythor pretty good) and landed next to Lloyd who was on the verge of passing out. Instinctually, he grabbed him and held him tight. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay now.”
The lava was rising, but he wasn’t scared. He’d survived this before.
He held the Sword of Fire and said, “Hold your breath.”
*
Outside, Cole, Jay, Zane, and Garmadon were trying to run from the gushing river of lava that had overtaken the hallway. Once they were on solid ground again, Cole used his powers to lift them up to safety on a stone platform where they all watched the terrifying display of light and earth erupting all around them, filling the sky with black smoke and raining fire down on them.
“Where’s Kai?” Zane asked. “Did he get out?”
“I don’t know,” Cole said, trying not to let his throat feel too tight. “I think he’s still in there.”
“As well as MY SON!!!” Garmadon had his throat around Cole’s neck as a fresh explosion of magma shot out from the volcano’s peak like a huge firework. Jay and Zane were on him instantly, but Garmadon had a death grip tighter than a king cobra. “YOU COST ME MY SON!!!”
“No he didn’t.”
Cole’s throat was relinquished and Garmadon whipped around.
Standing behind them, looking perfectly fine, was Kai, and in his arms he held an unconscious Lloyd next to a glowing Sword.
“Lloyd!” His father was holding him the next moment, cradling him and muttering to himself.
“He’s still alive, but we need to get away from here so he doesn’t breathe in any more gas,” said Kai as he watched the man he once saw try to murder him, gently press his forehead against his son’s face.
Then Cole walked up to him. “Kai, don’t you ever do anything like that ever again!” He said as he wrapped him in a tight hug. He pulled back quickly and took a shaky breath. “I swear, one of these days you’re gonna get yourself killed.”
“Seventh times’ the charm,” he smiled.
“You’re lucky the two of your were not harmed,” said Zane seriously. “You would be wise to think your actions through before acting on them.”
As Kai sheepishly nodded, Garmadon stood up straight, Lloyd over his shoulders, piggy-back style. “Well, what are you all waiting around for!? Let’s get moving!”
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