Ninjago: Where Heroes Come From

Chapter Fourteen: You're Welcome

Within the volcano, the heat was so intense that Kai could feel the sweat soaking into his skin as it dripped from his body. The lava that bubbled in the depths of the volcano set off an eerie red glow across the the craggy rocks that loomed below them, and Kai hesitated before following Garmadon and Lexi down the precarious, winding pathway towards the fang blade, sitting on a small island in the middle of the lava pool.

"How are we going to get to it?" Lexi asked, voicing the concern Kai also felt. Garmadon smirked, although it seemed much less venomous when he directed it at his daughter. "The element of power," he explained, "is a useful thing. I'll get it, no worries."

For some reason, this seemingly innocent line— no worries— made Kaia's stomach roil. Maybe it was that he was filled with anxiety and fear and frustration. Or maybe it was just the idea of a caring and protective father telling his young child not to worry that made the air seem so suddenly thick and his hart swell. It wasn't so long ago that his father had been the one telling him that.

But now he was gone, and it was time to move beyond that. Kai had been telling himself that for years, for almost a decade... why couldn't it be true, just for once? Why did his mind betray him so much?

Kai scowled, kicking absently at a lose stone that lay on the path before him. On top of everything that had happened, everything he already had to worry about, now Nya and Jay were together— whenever that had happened, Kai wasn't thrilled about it. Nya was all he ever had in terms of family, and he wasn't ready to let her go, certainly not to a man he barely knew.

She shouldn't be with someone she just met, he told himself to satisfy the beast of anger in his heart, she should pick someone else, someone better.

"Careful now," Garmadon called suddenly, "this part's treacherous."

"So's everywhere else," Kai grumbled to himself, but he was ignored by both Lexi and Garmadon. That was another thing bothering him. The two were so close, like they'd known each other their whole lives, like they had some pre- established bond no one knew about. It seemed unfair, cruel, even. Kai kicked at another rock, his anger bubbling in his chest.

His foot scraped the rocky ground and slipped. There was nothing to kick, just empty air, and beneath it, lava. There was a moment, one horrifying, heart-stopping moment, when Kai felt himself tilting forwards wildly, his arms windmilling as he tried to regain the footing he'd lost. Then his foot fell, dragging him with it, and he tipped forwards and began to fall freely, the lava rushing towards him...

Someone screamed his name— Lexi, he late realized, because Garmadon didn't scream— and he felt heat pressing against his body and enveloping him. He closed his eyes, thinking, for a moment, that he had hit the lava and was burning to death, but then he realized that he wasn't in any pain. Opening his eyes, he saw, to his shock, that he was hovering in midair above the lava lake, held aloft by some mysterious force.

He began to rise, something tugging him upright, and he realized that it wasn't anything solid, but power. Dark, black strings, like wisps of smoke, curled around his entire body, entrapping him, holding him up and lifting him to safety.

He didn't register it at first when he landed again on solid ground. He was vaguely aware of someone sitting next to him, shaking his arm slightly, a soft voice asking over and over again if he was okay. He blinked, his chest heaving, and turned slowly to see Lexi kneeling at his side, her sharp green eyes looking into his with concern.

"I'm okay," he said, gently knocking he hand away, and she pursed her lips and nodded. "My father saved you," she said, raising an eyebrow. Kai gasped.

Garmadon laughed and flexed his fingers. He was staring down at Kai expectantly, as if waiting to be given a gift. Kai said nothing, simply staring at the man with a mixture of shock and confusion.