Chapter Text
now, to be completely honest with you, kai had no intention of ever really opening his phone during a mission. it was frowned upon, obviously, and he usually had it completely silent and sitting in a reserved spot under his gi for emergencies. and he couldn’t even check it if he wanted to, really, because they were busy today– busy! –with yet another garmadon wannabe that had yet another pseudo megaweapon. this one’s name wasn’t even noteworthy enough to pinpoint, and the small, glitch-like portals that appeared around ninjago weren’t big enough to cause any harm at all, save for a few people getting free wireless for a few hours.
and jay and zane were dealing with him. cole and lloyd were helping people deal with the sudden portal outbreak. nya and him–well. they got assigned lookouts, so it’s not really as if anyone is missing anything, is it? they were told to look for something strange, and his phone buzzing twenty miles an hour when previously on silent was strange , right?
so he checked it. sue him. nya was too worried about jay to really be on lookout, and kai knew the others had it handled, so when he opened his phone to see a new type of notification, he had to check. the icon was red, and angry, and frankly an odd sight – it wasn’t anything he had installed, and the message accompanying it was enough to give him pause.
[CG] DAVE. DAVE WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS.
dave ? he thought, as if questioning it mentally would do anything. he knew immediately that this was a new app on his phone that he did not download (he’s a basic guy; he has, like, seven apps, and they’re all the more popular social medias and subway surfers), and that it likely came from the portals erupting everywhere. he also knew that whoever ‘CG’ was, he was contacting the wrong person.
[CG] THERE ARE PORTALS EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE I LOOK. I KNOW YOU’RE WITH HARLEY RIGHT NOW.
[CG] HELLO? ARE YOU GOING TO ANSWER ME, ASSHOLE?
yeah, he had no idea who harley was, either. but every second he sits here, staring at his phone and doing nothing (especially when this ‘CG’ is talking about the portals, although that could come from the public propensity for posting and texting everything about their situations), he hears another god-forsaken ping from his phone.
[??] uh, i dont know who dave or harley are, but you got the wrong dude
the response is immediate. kai looks around again to make sure nothing requires his immediate (lookout) attention.
[CG] WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU.
[??] dude u texted ME
[CG] NO, I TEXTED TG. YOU ARE NOT TG.
[CG] WHY ARE YOU NOT TG?
[??] idk but figure out who that is and stop textign me
[??] im doing somethign and ur like
[??] distracting me
[CG] WELL BOO-FUCKING-HOO.
[CG] THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR UNIVERSAL FUCKUP, AND YOU.
[CG] WELL, YOU DON’T SEEM WORRIED ABOUT THIS FRANKLY INSANE SITUATION.
[??] u just texted the wrong guy who cares get over it
[CG] IT’S NOT JUST A MATTER OF TEXTING THE WRONG GUY. HOW STUPID AND IRREVOCABLY IMBECILIC CAN YOU BE.
[??] first master calm the fuck down
[??] idk if uve noticed but were in the middle of a. like. lockdown emergency
[??] text me when its resolved. or mever, rlly
[CG] YOU MEAN THE PORTALS.
[??] duh.
[CG] THAT’S WHY PESTERING YOU IS VITAL, YOU IRREDEEMABLE COCKSOCKET!!
kai stared at his phone in disbelief. on the off chance this guy somehow texted him through a portal, texting him still shouldn't be his number one priority. especially during a mission. surely this guy gets that.
he slips his phone back into its secure place, ignoring the excessive buzzing in favour of looking out once more over the landscape. buildings were being pulled through portals that seemingly led to different places, and his brothers were throwing numerous shots at the fake garmadon. nya did have her binoculars out, but they weren't doing much other than staring at the same building and jumping from portal to portal. was she studying their movements?
he heard a bomb go off nearby. nya decided now was the time she would mention shit on their coms, after it had gone off, but he can’t blame her. he wasn’t doing anything. “uh, a bomb just came through a portal on the east end of julian street!” he turned to look at the crsis, but found nothing but a fiery empty hole and a dud bomb sitting in the middle. from the crater, it didn’t have a big impact, but it went deep and burst the area into flames. although, he could just make out the bomb in the center, and it didn’t look right. “these things are being thrown! i can see–uh, greyish claws throwing these bombs that definitely do not look like bombs!”
he broke out his binoculars in a hurry, focusing them on a few of the open portals. the bombs themselves were black, white, and hexagonal in nature, and each color was separated into quadrants. they certainly weren’t anything he had seen before. then, to his right and only twenty or so feet away, he actually saw something throw one. its skin was grey, and it as outfitted in regular human clothing, but the eyes were yellow and the head had large, orange horns. and the - the mouth was so disgustingly large and curled up in a sharp smile that kai felt as if he would puke. “first master,” he stumbled over the coms, moving back a few feet. he dropped the binoculars. “this–these things aren’t from our realm! or from any of the ones we’ve been to, that’s for sure!”
nya didn’t look his way, but he could feel the worry from here. cole took up the coms in her place. “oh my–kai, you’ve seen them? what do they look like?” he didn’t answer for a minute, stuck on the sight of the horrific monster in front of him. “kai, this isn’t the time for dramatics!”
he swallowed. the… monster? troll? ogre? smirked at him, as if this creature knew how he would be perceived, and the portal closed. “they’re grey!” kai rushes out. he hurriedly looks around to see if he can spot any others. “and they have bright yellow eyes, and huge, large protruding horns on their heads, but they–they seem humanly? almost? they’re wearing human clothes with weird symbols on them!”
jay sputters over the coms–a first for this mission. jay’s struggling to fight the fake, he’s sure, but he never really does this when it comes to reactions. “wh–what do the symbols look like?” it was as if jay had an idea of what these creatures are, but didn’t want to say anything in fear of being wrong. or, kai supplies, he didn’t want to say anything in fear of being right. “i mean, did they–did they look like–shit!”
kai heard a much louder explosion, followed by a scream over the coms and a rumbling beneath his feet. these portals were now throwing out anything the ‘people’ behind them could get their hands on–including much more lethal bombs (although, now that he’s looked, he can very clearly see bookshelves and chairs being thrown out, too). he ran to look over the roof and towards jay, and the fear that he was badly hurt set in. he couldn’t see either of them. and then: “we are fine,” zane calls. kai was starting to get worried. “jay is badly hurt, however. kai, could you swap with him?”
his bones shook with the notion that this will be the fight they do not win . that this was the end of ninjago for them.
and yet…
and yet.
he felt the ghost-buzz of his phone, as if it was giving him a warning. he took it out absentmindedly, mind numb to the world around him, and ran a finger over the screen.
“yeah, for sure,” he replied, and he was filled with terrible purpose.
“okay, good. jay, get to higher ground; kai, meet me at the bottom of borg tow–” another bomb went off, this one only the next building over. they were getting more and more frequent. “at the bottom of borg tower. i am leading the creature there.” kai caught the use of the word ‘creature’ rather than ‘the fake’. zane had been given reason to change his understanding of the situation, and this meant nothing but anguish for kai.
he packed up as swiftly as possible, phone still in hand. his binoculars and his side weapons were thrown to the side for nya or jay to take if needed, but he made sure to keep an extendable sword sheathed if needed. again, he felt his phone buzz, and he realized then it was in his hand. kai looked up to see nya staring out the direction jay and zane were, worry evident on her face, and he decided to give a quick peek at the latest message.
[CG] OH MY GOG. YOU’RE THROUGH THOSE PORTALS.
[CG] I CAN SEE YOUR CITY BEING DESTROYED.
kai instantly shut his phone off. he didn’t like the idea that CG was one of them, and that whoever this was could see him fighting this creature off. what was once a fake garmadon was now a man (a weapon) of mass destruction on a level no one could possibly replicate, and one of those ugly-ass ogres could be watching him? he clenches his fist, slides his phone away, and jumps the building, heading directly for borg tower.
“wait,” lloyd called. lloyd only spoke during missions to give dire news or direct orders. kai awaited the unbeatable dread that he knew would fill him the second lloyd was done. “the civilians aren’t able to evacuate. the situation downtown is so bad that some have been taken through the portals by whatever creature kai saw earlier.”
there was a long, silent pause before he spoke again. his voice was more strained this time. “they–the civilians are watching their friends and family get kidnapped, and some have–some have decided to jump rather than be blown up or taken.”
kai clenched his teeth and said nothing. what was there to say? this bombshell of information wouldn’t process for another few days, and by then the grief of the city would be insurmountable.
“trolls,” jay throws out, as if he himself needed the answer. his voice is somber and wet, though from blood or tears kai didn't know. “they’re called trolls, if–if what i’m seeing and hearing is right. they… they’re a violent b–”
“shit!” nya cuts in. jay had half a mind to complain about her interrupting. “fuck! jay, kai, llo–they’re on me! they–they left the portal to come get me, i–” kai heard a loud, grueling growl, followed by an echoing slap. he could see her rage from his side of the line ( and feel it, too ). she let out a grunt over the coms, and then that was it. it was silent. immediately, anything jay was going to say about the supposed trolls was lost to the fact that nya was likely gone.
“... come on, you’ve got to be fucking joking!” jay shouts, and kai can only feel. he says nothing. this has happened before, but kai has always had a small idea of where nya was. they had that–that weird sibling thing, where one of them can always somewhat sense the other. he couldn’t feel anything now. it was blank, and hurtful, and he needed, needed, needed to take his anger out on the creature that caused it.
“kai, are you near me? i need your help! now!” it was zane. he ran faster and pushed himself to get there before this rage settled. the creature was big; kai was angry. if he made himself respond to zane, zane would only get harsh words in return. “kai? you need–cole! lloyd! i know you’re working civilian, but–”
“got it, zane. cole, go with jay to the building nya… nya was stationed at. see if you can find anything. this isn’t our first rodeo. she’ll be fine. we’ll find her.” cole gave a hum of affirmation. and, technically, lloyd was right. this has happened before, but they all knew it was never to this degree. they had no idea who these trolls were, or what they wanted, or how to even access them, and this could mean they never see nya alive again. “we’ll find her.”
and first master , if lloyd hadn’t said it with such vehemence, someone who didn’t know better would assume nya was lost.
the tower came into sight. lloyd was already there with zane, and the two of them were throwing everything they got into the creature. it was laughing hysterically, and even though its bones were crooked and their face was near frozen, it looked positively gleeful. kai shot fire at it as fast as he was able, but that seemed to do absolutely nothing.
“oh, look at you all!” the creature shouted, its peppy voice booming across the city. kai was nearly thrown back by the force of it. “you honestly believe your petite powers can stop me? i’m a god . i could send you off with a–”
kai’s extendable sword connected with its face. yeah, he’s heard this spiel before. the creature stumbled back, letting out a loud, frustrated growl, but kai kept coming. he slashed and slashed and slashed, hitting new nooks and crannies with every hit. his scowl turned to words, and he let his rage guide him. “you sick bastard! they took my sister! where is she?!”
“jesus christ !” the creature screamed, throwing its hands up to protect itself. kai lodged the sword into the large, muscular arm, nearly cutting it halfway through. the creature’s other arm carried the megaweapon, which in this case was a hammer – a common weapon between the trolls and whoever this guy was – and his fingers clenched it as tightly as possible. “the fact you think you can stop me is pitiful.” kai’s body was slammed with the blunt side of the hammer, throwing him into the lower levels of borg tower. the brick gave way for his hardened form, but he knew he didn’t break any bones. zane’s calls of worry rang out the second the second hammer blow came; this time only missing him by a few inches. “i’m a god, baby. observe and withhold your weeping until the end of the performance.”
kai had his attention, but the ‘god’ had stopped moving – he imagined it was because lloyd was behind him, and zane was on the roof of the smaller section of borg tower, staring down and preparing a shot of his bow. he clearly knew where all three of them were at any given moment, so surprise attacks were off the table. the slice on his arm was regenerating at a slow rate, and the deep gashes on his face were near gone. sheer force and slashing damage couldn’t work unless done in large amounts, and their elemental powers were consumed by the hammer. what did that leave them?
lloyd realized the same time kai did. kai would have to talk to him, and they all knew kai was a shitty negotiator.
“wait!” kai exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. he stood carefully, aching at the cracks in his bones, and backed up. the ‘god’ rolled his eyes at him. “we–we can’t defeat you, right? but we can certainly make this harder for you. or–or help you, even, if it comes down to it. you want to take over, right?” he didn’t dignify kai’s words with even an inkling of a reaction.
“kai, if this doesn’t work, i am encasing him in ice. if you are too close to him, you might be stuck, too,” zane warned. lloyd said nothing, so kai knew it was agreed upon: it was up to him to fix this. jay and cole, from the other side of the line, both shouted their grievances, but it fell on deaf ears. zane continued: “although i imagine it won’t hold long, you will be incapacitated. plan wisely.”
the ‘god’ looked him dead in the eye. his eyes were crazed, and kai finally got a good look. his entire being was colored in bright, neon patterns, and his eyes had symbols replacing the pupils. although huge, this monster of a man(?) was dressed for clownery. “you aim to help me now that you cannot defeat me?” he bellowed. kai held his ground and forcefully nodded. “you are a weak people. you give up your city because i requested it? because i gave an extravagant show of power? what of your sister, boy? what of her?”
he didn’t hesitate. “ensure she’s alive. she will help if we’re together.” and he wasn’t wrong , per se, because she would help them all if she knew what they were doing. when the ‘god’ didn’t budge, kai then offered, “bring her here. we all have powers. we can help–help control the populace.”
kai stood straight and dared take a step forward to show his commitment. he was hurt, and even from the short, ineffable battle they had just minutes ago, kai knew the destruction this man caused would never be completely reparable. the best chance the ninja had came from keeping their enemy close, and the people of ninjago would eventually forgive them should they defeat the god (even if they were forced to work with him, however long that may be). the other ninja knew this deep in their bones.
the god looked at him. stared straight through him. dug through his intentions, pulling and yanking the ones that looked as if they would break. when he found no loose strings, he spoke once more. “kneel, ninja.”
kai was a man of pride. he held his image and the regard he had for himself very high and close to his heart. he wouldn’t kneel for anybody if the situation called for it; when chen first told him to kneel before the weapon, he robbed the man. when the ice emperor forced him down to his knees, tilting his chin up, he defeated him. now, when this hulking, massive beast commanded him, he could do nothing but.
he knelt.
“good little ninja, aren’t you? i bet if i asked you to kill, say, any number or one of these civilians, you would decline though, hm? won’t listen to your new master if it’s not something you agree with.” the god approached kai, and leaned down to come face to face with him. “bring your brothers here, and i’ll transport you to your sister. not the other way around.”
how dangerous an offer that was. an immediate transport to nya, presumably in another universe, and a free passage to fighting the trolls that took her. but what is to say they are defeatable? or that all of them don’t look like this hulking beast of a creature? what is to say they will not die the second kai accepts his deal? but nya, on the other side, has no say in this, and might die alone should he not consider it. the others care so, so much for her, and he knows wu would advise against taking it. he knows wu would decline had he been given the offer, and he likely is listening to the comms on the other side.
he can feel the decision weighing on him. the eyes of the other ninja boring down on him, on his call, and how this might influence ninjago. how in the eyes of many they will have abandoned the city as their last line of defense. how could kai accept when it’s one life for many? but how can he not consider the possibility of this being an advantage for them? the weight of millions, all in the palm of his hands. but kai is selfish. if he were a better man, he would not barter; he would attack.
“and my master?” he asks. none of his brothers speak.
“should he arrive, i will send him with you. and do make the decision soon, darling. if you want proof of my offer, i will let you gaze into the portal before you walk through.”
instantaneously, lloyd calls for everyone to recenter on kai’s location, wu included. the creature smiles at him with obvious glee, and kai is reminded that he likely knew where each of them were at any given time. the idea that they were considering this offer filled the creature with emotion, though kai could not distinguish which, and he had to remind himself that they have conquered worse in far grimmer circumstances. that is his only solace.
the others arrive, though not quickly. kai and this creature stare at each other through hooded eyes and a mask of fury, each sizing the other up as they wait. the assumed ‘god’ offers no comments and no more promises, even when master wu shows up to stare him down. they don’t greet each other, or try to insult kai; they know they cannot win. taking this was better than losing a long winded fight for their lives.
quiet still, a portal is opened. the edges are black and shadow-like, but the frame is large and contains a multitude of things within. inside is an empty room with an unconscious nya. her skin and the floor are covered with a thick, dark-blue substance, nearly the consistency of blood, and a large cut situates itself on her left thigh. kai swallowed.
“you can’t see the door,” zane notes quietly, and the creature rolls its eyes. he has the audacity to continue, to question, but none of them believe he will get attacked for it. “is this a prison?” he asks, but gets no answer in return. his voice is shaky and slim. “a cell?”
“and what if it was? go along, ninja. you have your prize.”
nobody looked as if they were going to move. kai looked to the bored creature with purpose, and searched for an answer where there was none. his phone buzzes through the adrenaline, punctuating the silence.
was CG through that door? were the trolls? was CG the one who did this to nya?
despite everything, he braces himself and takes a step through.