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The Wipeout.
It is a famous event in Ninjago history for all the wrong reasons.
Because it was the day that their heroes - the Ninja - became deceased. It got the title "Wipeout" because it was all at once.
"Extinction" was discussed, but it was chose to be unfitting since there was one survivor.
This is the story of how The Wipeout occurred.
But be warned, it is not a pretty tale.
And it is not for the faint of heart.
{q}--+-+-+--{p}
Zane wasn't very open with their own emotions. Why that is, nobody had any clue. Not even Zane themself.
But despite this, there was always one person who seemed to know exactly what they were feeling. Maybe he knew because he himself was bad at showing feelings. Or maybe he's had to do that for half of his life.
Either way, it didn't really matter. Because in the end, Kai was the only one who could tell if Zane was pissed off, if they just needed to calm down, or even if they weren't at their best in the moment, and the least they needed was a hug.
That's why Kai was scared out of his mind when Zane started having nightmares - and was able to hide them. It didn't matter how much Kai tried and tried to figure out what was troubling Zane, but be just... couldn't.
It was a big "fuck you" from the world.
However, Kai still kept at it. Whenever Zane would say they were okay when they quite obviously weren't, Kai would just hug them until it had gone away for the moment. When Zane ever tried to retract from Kai's grasp during the night, Kai would just hold on twice as hard.
It might've been a bit harsh, but Kai was trying his best to wait and see if Zane would ever tell him what was going on.
Unfortunately, waiting only brought more pain.
It was on the third week of the nightmares when Kai awoke in the middle of the night. Alone. Even during the past few weeks, Zane had only tried to sleep farther away from their partner. They had never tried to leave.
Kai had immediately bolted out of the room, so he missed the small note on his door at first - an action he would regret for the rest of his days.
Eventually, the rest of the ninja awoke due to Kai's frantic searching of the monastery. Lloyd was the first to emerge, and he was also the first to notice the small piece of paper taped to the inside of Kai and Zane's room door.
Dear Kai,
I know you might be wondering where I am. I apologize in advance for the stress I have caused you and the others in the moments that you have been looking for me.
However, I had no other choice.
Vex has somehow wormed his way into my processors and is getting louder and louder each day.
I have gone to the one place that might cure this. A mind of ice will only melt in the hottest of flames.
I did not want to plague your mind with this information.
This is because I love you, firefly.
Love,
Zane
Kai, when he heard Lloyd finish the note, didn't know what to think at first. He was concerned, he was scared, but he also felt oddly betrayed. Zane didn't tell him that Vex - the Formling who had made Zane commit atrocities under the guise that they were someone besides themself - had apparently been speaking to Zane in their mind.
He didn't care that it sounded near impossible since they were in two different realms, because in that moment, all Kai could care about was what Zane meant.
"A mind of ice will only melt in the hottest of flames."
It took a few minutes to process. But eventually his mind had the answer:
The Elemental Temple of Flames.
{q}--+-+-+--{p}
It was a short journey.
But despite that, Kai thought of many things along the way.
He thought about Zane.
About the Formlings.
About Vex.
And about himself.
Had he been too pushy with getting Zane to open up? Was this his own fault for allowing the secrecy to get this far? Was Zane going to be gone because he hadn't been there enough?
It was all too much.
Thankfully, Nya calmed him down. A little.
But Kai was still worried.
And rightfully so.
When they reached the Temple of Flames, it was around dark, but the lava from the volcano lit up the area well.
Entering the Temple, each ninja had unique reactions. They each had different kinds of memories that took place here.
But Kai was just unsettled. Nobody ever went there anymore since the Sword of Fire had been removed from the pedestal all those years ago. He remembered the last time he was in the Temple.
He remembered the terror he felt when Wu fell over the edge of the lava waterfall. At the time, Kai had barely known the man at the time but was still distraught when it seemed like Wu had died.
The Temple had become unstable after Wu had fallen, and Kai now knew why. Since the Temple was connected to the element of Fire itself - and since Kai's powers acted half off of strong emotions - the Temple reacted when Kai reacted.
So he needed to be careful. One wrong thought, one brash action, and everything could come tumbling down in under a minute. Then Zane really would be gone.
Don't think about that right now.
The five ninja arrived in the main cavern of the Temple and all of Kai's warnings about not feeling any strong emotion went right out of his head.
Because Zane was standing at the edge of the lava waterfall. And they looked like they were about to step right in.
Kai rushed forward, the sounds of his teammates yelling at him blurring into the background, overcome by his roaring thoughts of panic.
He shouted Zane's name again and again, but the distance was too great. Zane just couldn't hear him. Worry was replaced with panic.
The Temple started to shake, but it went unnoticed by the master of Fire.
Until the ground started the crack. Then the walls. Red, orange, and black hot, viscous liquid flowed through the cracks.
Zane had broken their still stance and looked behind them. They saw Kai running towards them, panic evident in his eyes. Then they looked down and saw the cracks.
But by the time they looked down, it was already too late.
With one final crack, the small platform of rock that Zane had been standing on fully detached from the floor and began drifting towards the waterfall.
Zane attempted to make a trail of ice, but it was too hot in the Temple. Kai couldn't do anything but watch.
The two made eye contact one last time.
Kai's gaze was full of regret, panic, and fear.
Zane's was full of love, farewell, and resignation.
The Temple couldn't handle the strong burst of emotions that flooded through Kai's head.
The cracking only intensified, with panicked shouts complimenting the slow crackle of the Temple as its foundations began to fall apart.
Kai couldn't hear any of it. He collapsed to the ground as silver and white became overcome by orange and red.
As the one he loved most was subjected to the powers that had been a part of him since day one.
He did this. He was responsible.
He only realized what he had done to the others as the sirens began to wail; and as he was exposed to the sky once more.
When asked about what happened that night, Kai remains silent.
Afraid that if he says anything more, if he becomes attached enough to another person to tell. . .
He'll just end up losing them too.
By his own hand.