to rule the world | a ninjago au

[27] buzz lightyear saves the day??

kai

No one was allowed to read the prophecy except Lloyd, Misako, and Garmadon.

No one was happy about that either, especially when Svanna let slip that the others were involved in this too. Kai knew he had to get away from all the arguing - one wrong move, one wrong word, and he'd be a human torch ablaze in an underground room - so he visited his father. Ray had nearly recovered, spending the majority of his time slowly regaining his strength, exploring headquarters, and coming to terms with the fact that his ideas of good and evil, Montgomery and Wu, had been turned upside down.

Also that they were being actively hunted, and that his wife was in captivity.

"Anything?" Ray asked, slowly rising from his armchair. When Kai shook his head, his sigh was loud enough to shake the foundations of Borg Tower. "I'm not surprised. Garm–Monty was always secretive."

"What do you mean by that?" interest piqued, Kai flopped into the unoccupied chair.

Ray's answer was vague. "From what I know of him, he always acted like...that."

"Okay, but in more detail?"

"It's unlikely you have much recollection of this, but many years ago, the Shadow Wars took place. Elemental Masters live longer, and it couldn't have been a few years after Wu—the Emperor found us and began training us with his brother's help. The Stone Army rose with no signal, forcing us into battle as barely experienced fighters — as you are now."

Kai stiffened slightly at this offhand comment. Of course his father didn't know how battle-hardened they had become, he was stuck underground while Kai was throwing his life out the window every day above ground. Still, it felt like a dig that only poked at his pride.

"We never found out who was behind the Army, always suspected it was Montgomery who secretly wielded the Helmet of Shadows without our knowledge. He just...acted off. He was withdrawn, sulky, barely attended war councils. It's odd to see him this assertive now, is all I'm saying." Ray shrugged.

"I can't believe you fought in the Shadow Wars. I mean, I saw you fight that day when they attacked our house, but it's still so weird." Kai gave a light chuckle which fell sober at the thought of his mother. "Both of you fighting."

It was clear who Kai meant by both."She was, is a menace with a trident. The day I laid eyes on her..." Ray trailed off wistfully, eyes glossing over. Kai waited for his father to continue, but Ray remained lost in thought with no sign of returning.

"She'll be fine," Kai said, trying and failing to inject some reassurance into his voice. These days, positivity was in short supply. Nightmares had continued to plague him despite the few hours each night that barely counted as sleep. The short snippets that left his bed drenched in the early morning rotated. Most often it was the tormenting question of what if, what if Nya hadn't outrun the fire, what if both his father and mother had been captured, what if they hadn't found Svanna? It was like a running loop of thoughts interbroken by the jarring question of what if?

With his father lapsed into silence, Kai slipped out of the room quietly, making his way to the war room, thoughts clouded. Svanna's arrival had sparked a frenzy of activity in the Sons of Garmadon's inner circle. Wherever he went, Kai could feel the clued-in agents staring at him and his friends. Sure, she'd let slip that the other elemental masters were involved with the whole prophecy ordeal, but suddenly everyone thought that meant he knew what was going on.

Before this shit storm of a war, Kai Smith had always known what he was going to do.

The plan was pretty simple.