Ninjago: The Tribes AU

"Stripped away"

Clouse smirked suddenly, stopping what he was doing. Chen stopped moping at the same time, sensing something change in the room. "Clousey... your fire."

The sorcerer chuckled as he ignited his hand. "I felt that too. Considering that power influx, and the fact that there's no more resistance coming from the other end, I'd say the plan worked. It's rather a shame that Kai had to die in such a way, but at least now the next phase of the plan can be more compelling."

The Anacondrai smiled and he slithered around Clouse in excitement; saying that he couldn't wait for the next phase of the plan. It was going to be 'fun.'

Clouse stepped out the front doors of the temple and stood before the whole tribe. He had called an urgent meeting, so everyone was there. The man played pitiful and pretend to be grief stricken as he began his speech. "People of the Fire Tribe! I bring you some rather... devastating news. Kai, master of fire, is no longer with us."

The crowd erupted in disbelief and anger, asking several questions. Clouse raised his hand to get them all to be silent. "It’s true-" He continued to lie. "For I am the proof." He ignited his fists and held them up for all to see. "As you can all tell, the fire element has chosen a new host. Which means the original has passed on. So before any of you ask, I'll tell you what you want to know......

He was killed by Lloyd and the other tribe leaders."

_______________________________________

"You did what?" Jay scolded.

Lloyd looked away from the other elemental masters almost ashamed. "I wasn't going to, but when I checked on him, his breathing was stopping and he was ice cold. I had to save Kai. It felt wrong to watch him die."

Jay was about to go off on Lloyd again, but restrained himself. He glanced over the balcony at Ronin, who sat by a still unconscious Kai. He still didn't like the idea of that villain being there. Nya agreed that it was probably the right thing to do, not to mention the most moral. After all, if someone's dying and you can help, but you choose not to, it's no better than murdering them. Leaving someone to die is wrong- regardless of who it is. Zane peered down at the fire leader. "Your little spirit friend taught you to do that?"

The green ninja shrugged. "Not exactly. He told me I could do it, but never the exact instructions. I'm not even sure if I did it right. I mean, he still hasn't woken up."

Zane smiled. "He does like to stay vague huh?"

Jay shook his head and walked away with an eye roll. Cole followed after him and so did Nya. With that, Zane mentioned about checking in on Kataru, and Lloyd gladly joined. The two of them walked into the hut to see him still sitting up on his bed; sister by his side. He finished downing a cup of water and greeted them. The bags udder his eyes were completely gone now, and they themselves were a lot more vibrant. Akita sat in her wolf form, cuddling against him. He pet her as Lloyd and Zane asked how he was doing.

"I'm doing a lot better, thank you. I apologize for all the trouble of having to help me, but I really am beyond grateful."

Zane assured him it was no problem, and the formling smiled warmly. Akita shifted back into her human form and asked him if he wanted to show them the thing he did last night. Lloyd questioned what she meant, but the question was soon answered by the sister helping him to his feet. Akita slowly let go, and Kataru stabilized himself to stand on his own. Lloyd’s eyes lit up with pride. "You can stand up again!"

"That's not all I can do-" He closed his eyes and focused, slowly shifting into a bear. When the transformation was complete, he plopped down panting. Akita told him to take it easy as both Lloyd and Zane looked on in awe.