Ninjago: The Tribes AU

"Rescue Mission"

A twisted, sadistic smile spread across Clouse's face as he watched Garmadon wail in heartbreak while reaching out for his son's lifeless body.  The sorcerer chuckled while looking over the balcony at his champion. "Congratulations Kai, how does it feel to know you've just defeated our largest threat?"
But there was no response. Kai didn't even blink. It was like he'd been completely frozen in place-... Actually, apon closer inspection... he was. A blast of icy cold power shot through the arena and blasted the frozen Kai into the wall. Clouse and Garmadon both froze in shock as the scene unfolded. From the opposite side of the arena, the double doors burst open to reveal the tribe leaders. The crowd roared out in cheers as they walked out into the center. Zane cracked a smile as his hands glowed with frozen power. "Ice to meet you."
Jay burst into laughter in the back of the previously epic group shot. "I told him to say that."

The sorcerer roared in rage; shooting out beams of darkness at them. Timing it carefully, the team dodged every single one. Cole then took notice of Lloyd on the floor and dashed to his side. He reached down to touch Lloyd's shoulder and a film of green energy rippled over him as the contact was made. It was some form of force-field... The green ninja stirred slightly and opened his eyes. "Did- did it work? Did I win?" He questioned weakly.

Garmadon, from his shadowy cage, stared down stunned. Lloyd... was alive? But how? It honestly didn't matter at that moment. Tears begin to flow again, but this time out of pure joy rather than sorrow. "My boy." He whispered.
Clouse, in pure bitterness launched the leader of the Jade Tribe down to knock into the intruders, but a cyclone caught him inches from the ground. Morro slowly lowered him with a smirk. "There- now we're even."

Garmadon let out a little chuckle as he rose up. "Eh. We'll see about that." Just then, purple energy built up around the master as his eyes began to glow. Clouse snarled at his rival as he morphed into his Oni form and let out a massive shriek. The leaders watched it in awe as the stadium members either ran off or jumped in to join the fight. A massive fight broke out, causing all the leaders to really make their training count. Zane however, avoided the conflict and instead helped the injured Lloyd out of the war zone. They escaped through the doors on the side of the ring that led past the dungeons. As they ran, Lloyd suddenly realized something and stopped in his tracks.

"What are you doing?!" Cried Zane. "We have to get you out of here!"

"We can't go! Not without my friend."

Zane questioned what Lloyd meant, and he explained that there was another prisoner they had to free. "He's a formling- like you." The green ninja explained as they ran.

"You saw someone here transform into an animal?"

"Well.. no. He can't. They're to weak to use their animal form, but I can tell by the fangs. His name is Kataru."

Zane skidded to a stop. "That.. that's not possible." The master of ice shook his head in disbelief and denial. "Kataru can't be here. He was murdered a few years ago. He tried serving as a guard like his father once did, but the Fire Tribe attacked and... he did not survive."

Lloyd didn't know what to say... he saw Kataru bleed, it wasn't like he was a ghost or anything. And there couldn't be two Kataru's. The Ice Tribe functioned strangely. It was against the rules to have two people in the tribe have the same name unless the other was about to die or dead. So it HAD to be him! "Did you find the body?" He inquired.

The Ice Emperor shook his head. "Now that you mention it, no. He went over the cliff, so-"

Lloyd continued running down the hallway, interrupting with "no body, no crime." Finally, they reached the prison cell where the boy was being held. Zane couldn't believe what he was seeing. It WAS Kataru! But he looked absolutely awful... he laid on the hard ground with his eyes half closed and empty; barely breathing. Zane grabbed the lock and froze it until it snapped open. The two rushed in and unchained him using the same method. Then, ice leader flung the limp body onto his back. Kataru glanced at his rescuers in exhaustion. "W- what is.." He managed to squeeze out. Zane shushed him as they began escaping out of the town. "Do not talk my friend. Save your energy."
Just as they were about to cross the border of the Firelands, Kai jumped in the way; fists ablaze.
"Where do you think you're going?!" He boomed. "Oh, I was gonna kill you before, young Garmadon, and I was going to make it quick. But now... oh.... I'm gonna make sure it's the longest, most excruciatingly painful, torment anyone can EVER experience! And that goes for all your little friends too!"

The look in Kataru's drained eyes almost begged him not to be bluffing. Every part of him ached, and any escape from it- even death- sounded worlds better than carrying on the way he was. Zane sensed his broken spirit and cuddled up against him harder in an effort to comfort them.
Lloyd ignited his fists with green energy as he stepped in front of the others protectively. The master of fire smirked like he knew he was going to win. Lloyd accelerated into a sprint as he charged Kai, his green energy blasting out of his hands and colliding with Kai’s fire. But Kai fought back fiercely, his flames even hotter than before. The fire leader then turned to Zane and Kataru; hurling a massive stream of fire towards them. Zane instinctively created an ice shield to protect them both, but it began to melt as the fire pressed against it. Lloyd leapt forward and unleashed an even larger blast of green energy before the shield could be fully melted through. Kai was flung back and screamed out in frustration. He stopped suddenly, eyes closed, hands and knees on the ground. Was he surrendering? The silence was suddenly broken though by several pillars of fire blasting out of the ground. The leaders dodged and wove around the columns of death that spewed up around them in a panic. Kai’s eyes opened, revealing they were now glowing a fiery orange. His arms became completely engulfed in flames as he charged at Zane. But he was suddenly stopped by being trapped in a tornado. And as quickly as it appeared, the fire on him was snuffed out. The two boys whipped around to see Morro controlling the vortex behind them. He called out for them to run while he held the rageful leader in. Zane grabbed the fellow formling and made a run for it with Lloyd. The master of wind waved his hands in a rotation movement and the vortex closed in closer on Kai. At first, the master of fire was being violent trying desperately to break through, but his fire wouldn't ignite. Then suddenly, he dropped to his knees; breathing becoming a forced gasp. His eyes went wide, like he was internally panicking as the other masters rushed out to escape. Morro told them the same thing he told the others- to run and not look back- he could handle it. While all the young leaders followed the directions and ran, Garmadon stopped and watched as Kai collapsed to the ground gasping desperately for air.

"Morro, that's enough." He said firmly.

"But you saw him back there! What he was about to do to Lloyd- And what he most likely successfully did to countless others- the terrible things hes capable of... he needs to die."

The Jade leader placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I understand where you're coming from, but suffocating him in a vacuum isn't going to solve anything."

"It's going to solve everything! We can only be at peace once this monster is gone."

"Call him what you want, but if you kill him now you'll be just as bad as he is. You'll be a murderer." Garmadon watched as Morro froze and the tornado stopped; leaving the now unconscious Kai to sharply draw another breath. As they ran off, the master of wind sighed. "You know, I hate how much you sound like your son."

Garmadon gave a slight chuckle. "Yes- well, I raised him well."
                   _________________

By the time they caught up with everyone else at the Jade Tribe village, everyone was gathered around in the center. Several worried faces stained the crowd as Garmadon made his way to the middle of the gathering. The leaders sat in the center holding Lloyd and Kataru closely. Garmadon dropped to his knees as he reached out and grabbed his son; holding him carefully in his arms. Lloyd smiled weakly as his exhausted body fell asleep in the embrace. Nya sat by Zane as he let his fellow formling's head rest on his lap. He couldn't believe how terrible his situation was. For so many years they thought he was dead, when in reality, he suffered a fate much worse. The ice leader fought back the tears while watching the painfully slow rise and fall of his chest. Nya, with her hands placed on his arm, used her powers to try to help his dehydration. After a few minutes of it, Kataru's skin had already began to regain color as well as appearing more healthy. Even though that was only a mere sliver of his problem, she felt good knowing she did her part. Or at least all she could do for the time being. Unfortunately, the only thing they could really do now for either Lloyd or Kataru was just let them rest. They could focus on the things like patching up their wounds or getting them something to eat later. However, one thing was for certain... in doing what they had to do to save their lives, they just made their worst enemy even worse....