The Call to Rise

Fire in One's Belly Part 1: Embers

Y'all asked for this, y'all have guessed it last time. And now, here it is. Kai's arc is here people! 

I'm just gonna shut my mouth and let y'all read. :D

(also, I made a LEGO pun in here somewhere. See if you can find it! :3)

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It was dark. That was the first thing that Kai realized. It was dark, very dark. He couldn't see anything, not even the tip of his nose.

His head hurt, Kai also realized as he slowly became more aware of his surroundings. His head hurt, he felt like most of his energy had been drained, and--when he tried to raise his hand to rub at his temples--his hands were cuffed together.

That could only mean one thing...

A deep, sinister chuckle pierced through the darkness and unwillingly sent chills down the fiery teen's spine. "Back again, huh young Kai?" a painfully familiar voice said.

Fiery amber eyes widened(and it wasn't because he was scared, damnit, he wasn't afraid of anything!). "You," he growled.

Just like that, the darkness faded some. He could see the bane of his existence--Garmadon--standing a few feet in front of him, a smirk on his face. The red ninja also became aware of two people holding him up by his arms while pressing a foot on each of his legs, forcing him to kneel.

"You have been behaving rather badly, as of late, Kai," the red-eyed man said, sounding as if he was disappointed. "I had expected more from you."

"Screw you, you absolute bastard!" Kai cursed, trying to stand up, but the thugs held him down. He tried to set his hands on fire, but the cuffs on his wrists prevented him from even making a tiny spark.

Garmadon shook his head. "I did not wish to do this, Kai," he stated, faking regret. "But behaviour like this must be...punished."

Kai snorted. "What's it gonna be this time? No food for a week?" he sassed. While the thought of receiving no food made his stomach flip-flop some, Kai knew that he could survive it. He had before.

The red-eyed man let out a deep chuckle, which set off multiple warning bells in the fiery teen's head. "Oh no, I believe that you have become far too used to that punishment," he replied, gesturing for the thugs to drag Kai forward. They did so, albeit rather roughly. "No, I believe that this punishment will be much more effective."

Kai was confused...until he realized why the thugs had brought him forward.

There, right near the feet of the red-eyed man, something that Kai hadn't noticed up until that point, was a small metal tub. The weak light allowed the young teen to see that it was mostly filled all the way with water.

Kai swallowed thickly, trying to slow the racing of his heart as he realized what was about to happen to him. "C-c'mon guys," he tried to sound nonchalant. "Let's be reasonable here--!"

At some unseen signal and without warning, one of the thugs grabbed both of his arms while the other one grabbed him by his hair and forced his head in the tub and underneath the water.

Kai thrashed, trying to break free. But the thugs were holding on to him firmly, making sure that his head stayed below the water. Kai screamed, but no sound could be heard. Instead, water rushed into his open mouth and nose and he started choking. He couldn't breathe, he was drowning, he couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe!