Ninjago: The Tribes AU

"Trader"

The two masters of fire stared at each other in surprise. Kai had ran out against Ronin’s better judgment, and had bumped into the Anacondrai. Chen tilted his head in suspicion.
"You look familiar..."

"I should! I am Kai, master of fire and rightful leader of the Fire Tribe!"

The snake's eyes lit up. "Ha! So Clousey Clouse DIDN'T kill you! Honestly, I'm kinda relieved. Now, the thought was after the fact, but I realized he was totally killing off my entire bloodline in murdering you. Which honestly, is a kind of an asshole thing to do now that I think about it."

Kai was honestly confused, but tried to shake it off. The boy demanded to know who he was and what he was talking about, so Chen explained who he was. Admittedly, it was almost unbelievable to think that one of his old ancestors was standing in front of him; not to mention looking only around 60. Then again, his tribe had all been turned into snake people and he had a shadow virus that sucked away his powers, so maybe Chen's situation wasn't TOO bizarre? Regardless, he'd left the shelter to go confront Clouse, and that's what he was going to do. But before he could get far, Chen stopped him.
"Look, I'm going to be a hundred percent transparent with you. Clouse is going to murder you. BUT... There's a higher chance of that not happening if you rejoin our side!"

Kai paused.

"Come with me, how ever many great grandson you are. Take my hand and we can reclaim our rightful place on that insanely comfortable throne back in the palace."

Jay, Brad, and Morro sat in the shadows not far away. And they all witnessed the boy take the snake's hand and the two of them rush off. Morro growled as he questioned if it was time to start the plan yet. Brad dismissed it, saying that they could start by following, but the actual plan needed one more factor that wasn't in place yet. Jay wasted no time and bolted after the two leaders; the others following closely behind.

Garmadon and Clouse continued to fight back and forth, both trying desperately to overpower the other. Unfortunately, they seemed to be evenly matched, which considering Garmadon was in his Oni form, was scary. The sorcerer eventually landed an attack that caused the leader to go crashing into the ground from the point he was flying at. The evil man raised his hands as they crackled with a fiery blaze. But his final blow was interrupted by a crash of thunder and a nearby lightning strike. Immediately, it began to pour; with the sky now an infinite blanket of darkness. A deafening roar rung out from the distance, and the sound of a new army shouted war cries from the battlefield below. Nya and Zane paused for a moment as they watched several new creatures join the fight. Nya’s eyes lit up with pride and wonder. "My tribe!"

Benthomaar dashed to her, spear in hand. "Brother said you could use some help."

An Anacondrai lunged at Benthomaar with its fangs, but was smacked back by a trident; sending them flying into a tree. "I hope you don't mind a little rain." Kalmaar smirked. He was a purple squid-like creature who wore beautiful golden armor; the kind of thing only the highest ranked person could wear. He smacked away a second warrior with his trident and wrapped his tentacles around a third; pulling them into a headbutt and then tossing them to the side.
"As you know, I don't normally care for the welfare of those here on land, but the fact that you left to risk your life meant that these snakes are not only a threat to them, but a significant threat to the sea as well. And as the guardian of Wojira's resting place, I've sworn to protect her world while she sleeps."
Kalmaar tossed her the trident she'd left back in the ocean, and she caught it with a smirk. Nya gratefully nodded and with a point of her weapon, the Water Tribe had officially joined the war for freedom.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was being cornered by several Anacondrai, all snapping at him. He'd previously been warned by Nya not to let them bite you, so knowing the consequences, he was a lot more cautious about fighting them head on. Suddenly, one thrusted its spear forward and Lloyd narrowly dodged it. He began to feel the panic sinking in as he climbed the tree to escape his predicament. The snakes were new to their form, not knowing how to climb, so high in the trees was a safe spot. For now. Besides, he couldn’t stay there for long; he was needed in the battlefield. Right as he was about to shoot an energy blast from his perch like a sniper, he noticed his father and Clouse fighting on the hill in the distance. By the way he was flying, one of Garmadon's wings were clearly injured. He had to get over there and help or that horrible scene in his vision was going to come true! But the fight below seemed worse. None of the tribes were doing anything against the Anacondrai, and they were clearly getting tired. So what was more important- helping his father? Or helping save several random lives?...

Farther away, Garmadon was ensnared by a shadowy tendrill and ran into the muddy ground. The leader coughed violently as a second vine wrapped around his neck and held him up to Clouse's eye level. The man snickered as he gazed into the master's eyes. He could sense his fear. Oh, how he had longed for the day that GARMADON was scared of HIM.
Finally, this was the moment he could do what he had been waiting for- watching the light fade from his eyes!

"Clousey!" Chen called out. The sorcerer's moment was yet again interrupted. He let out a long sigh, trying desperately not to lose it.
"What do you want? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something important!?" He growled. But the irritated expression on his face quickly turned to disbelief as he made eye contact with Kai, who was standing next to an excited looking Chen. The snake held his arms out, as if proudly presenting the young master of fire. Clouse's eye twitched, too flabbergasted to do anything else at that moment. "Why... Why isn't he dead?.."

"Because, he's my great, great, probably a few more greats grandson! We share the undefeatable blood!"

Garmadon snickered while still in the trap. He wanted so bad to mock this moment, but held it back. Just in case.
Again, Clouse questioned how Kai was still alive. "I can sense it, you no longer have your fire, that means the spell should have already-... unless... no!"  He shot Garmadon a death glare. "He couldn't have-"

Suddenly, the leader understood where the man was getting at and something deep in his eyes shifted. The sorcerer immediately caught the subtle change and angerly smashed Garmadon's face into the muddy ground again with his magic. Spinning around, he commanded that if Kai wished to have any chance of living, he would go out and bring him back Lloyd. Morro, Brad, and Jay, who were watching quietly in the distant shadows, all stared in irritation at how quick the boy nodded and ran off.
"That trader is going after Lloyd!" Exclaimed Jay. "We need to stop him!"

Brad agreed. "We start the plan now. And this rain just made our job a whole lot easier."