Chapter Text
“Your time is running out!” Their possessed leader screamed. A sickly grin covered his face. It was Morro who was grinning, but it was his face.
Lloyd’s face.
Kai’s little brother's face.
And Kai hated how out of place that expression looked on their leader.
The whole team was stuck in the middle of the Earth's layers. They were led deep down in a cave by Morro -the ghost possessing Lloyd-. By the time they had realized it was a trap, the entrance had already closed down.
A geyser greeted them inside the cave. No one paid any mind to it at first until Zane detected a gas leak. Explosive gases were filling the cave every second. Whether he planned it or not, Morro had led them inside a ticking time bomb. The cave's openings were already closed shut and the moment the geyser erupted, the pressure would cause an explosion.
The more time passed, the more gases leaked, and the worse their chances got. So they had to act quickly.
Kai immediately took distraction duty. Luring his little brother's body into a one-on-one fight while the others tried to find a way out.
“What are we going to do?!” Jay screamed. He was, of course, taking the situation extremely well.
Cole was on the other side of the cave, splitting the walls in two, trying to make a way out but they were in too deep. He kept splitting layers upon layers but unfortunately, not a sight of sunlight greeted him. That didn't stop him from continuing.
Zane was looking for a way to stop the geyser. He kept announcing the countdown on their communication. Which wasn't helping with the panic Jay was going through right now.
“What were you thinking, trapping us all down here, huh? Now you won't get to the tomb either!” Jay stopped frantically running around and screamed towards Morro as he stomped his foot to the ground.
Jays scream took Kai out of the fight for a moment and Morro immediately took advantage as he hooked a punch into the fire ninja’s face. Kai stumbled lightly as Morro turned towards Jay. “Now that's where you are wrong!” His hand went towards his chest -Lloyd’s chest- as he screamed:
“He will go down with you but I will persist!” Morros' grin got even wider. His hand was still on the heart of his possession. He was referring to the body he was in.
Referring to Lloyd.
Morro was a ghost. He was already dead. An explosion wouldn't kill him. Not without any water it wouldn't. But a weak and fragile Lloyd would definitely die.
The team froze, understanding Morros's intention. Jay's mouth opened but he surprisingly couldn’t muster up to say anything. Zane looked towards them, his brows furrowing as he eyed the ghost. And Cole, Cole had stopped his efforts for a brief moment, probably out of shock. Morro looked back at the nindroid proudly. He somehow managed to play all his cards right. He was getting rid of the whole team in just one go. And to think they were all students of the same teacher…
Zane's focus faltered for a moment. “Only 5 minutes left until the geyser erupts!” he claimed when he noticed his readings going off. With that reminder, Cole continued his dig. This time even faster. He was in so deep that only the muffled echoes arrvied to the outside. Still, the ground shook with every desperate attempt he made.
Jay’s panic state kicked back in again as he frantically looked around. The lightning ninja didn't know what role he needed to play in this situation.
They had to find a way out. They just had to. Lloyd was the main pillar of hope for the future of Ninjago.
“Shit shit shit shit! Do we go into the tunnel?!” Jay asked. Looking at the progress Cole had made.
“Not yet. Even if we avoid the explosion, the pressure would make the tunnel collapse. That's our last resort.” Zane answered firmly. Jay shook his head profoundly while Kai didn't understand why the tunnel wasn't the solution. Not that he was going to doubt his Nindroid friend's deduction.
“We are gonna die, we are sooooooo gonna die!!! Zane, what do we do then Zane!?” Jay screamed as Kai continued to spar. All this time, Kai was moving defensively while the two were fighting. He deliberately chose not to hurt his little brother's body.
They were all in danger. Lloyd was in danger. But Kai believed the others would find a way out eventually. So he just kept distracting the boy he swore to protect.
He made that promise to Lloyd a mere week ago.
And look how it had turned out.
Kai hated it. Kai hated that he wasn't there when Lloyd got possessed. He hated how he was useless when his brother called out to him as he fought the possession. Just for Kai to leave him all alone.
Kai hated that right now he couldn't do anything but stall time for others. Always waiting for the others to come up with a plan. Never thinking of anything of his own. But he wasn't good at thinking, was he? So he continued to dodge and turn, burying these feelings deep inside as always, waiting for some good news.
Kai didn't believe they were going to die. He trusted his team. They've had it way worse before. There’s no way this would be their end.
Cole would eventually open a path out.
“4 minutes!” Zane announced.
Even if he didnt Zane would find a way to stop the geyser.
“3 Minutes.”
Hell, maybe even Jay could do something.
“2 minutes.”
Ok, this was getting too close for Kai's liking. He couldn't see the others while fighting, but a certain blue blur was moving in circles repetitively. Kai didn't even have the chance to roll his eyes as he dodged yet another kick from the possessed boy. There seemed to be no update on their survival, which made all the feelings Kai had just buried surge back up again.
“1 minute.”
Ok, they were officially fucked. But that wouldn't do. Because just a week ago, Kai Smith had promised his little brother that he would protect him.
And no matter what happened, Kai always kept his promises.
So with that, Kai decided to ignore all his doubts and act the only way he knew how.
On instinct. With zero planning. As Always.
Whatever. He thought.
“Killing him won't make you the green ninja, nothing will!” Kai mocked Morro through his defensive stance. He knew exactly what to say to the ghost. He’d been in the exact situation he was after all. Yet look how different they had turned out.
“I don't care!” Morro growled back. His movements got quicker yet sloppier. Kai protected his pose even though he was getting pushed back.
“No matter how strong you are…. No matter what that tomb will grant you….. You, Morro, will never ever be the green ninja!” Kai screamed. This got Morro to act even more hastily.
“Like you would know!”
“Trust me, I do.” Kai said, locking his eyes with his brother's body as he took another punch to the back of his arms. The sudden eye contact made Morro falter for a slight second, and that was the opening Kai needed.
With raging determination, he grabbed Morros' arm tightly. The ghost wasn't expecting this sudden change of fight style from the previously defensive ninja. Kai spun his brother's body around and threw the boy into the tunnel Cole had been digging for the past few minutes. As Zane had said, the tunnel was their last resort. And right now Kai had decided it was time to use said last resort.
The tunnel was so deep and dark that Kai couldn't see where his brother's body landed. “Follow him! Keep him there!” he screamed with all his might. Frankly out of breath from all the punches he's been deflecting.
Jay heard his teammates call and finally stopped his panic. Sprinting into the tunnel as fast as lightning. He jumped onto the possessed boy with an ambush, pinning him down. Kai couldn't help but be glad that Jay had listened to him without question.
30 seconds were left.
Zane also started to run towards the tunnel. Kai was still as Zane went in.
The tunnel wasn't their last resort anymore.
Kai was.
He was going to be.
Kai looked at the boiling geyser.
At least he was gonna try.
20 seconds.
“Zane, close the tunnel's opening with ice! Cover it thick!” Kai shouted through his comm as he took a few steps towards the middle of the cave. The air was becoming quite unbearable. The gases started to make it hard to breathe.
“Come here so I can!” Zane screamed from the entrance. The sorrow in his tone greatly contrasted with the mechanical sound of his voice. Zane knew this tunnel wouldn't protect them. On the countrary the way it thinned down would amplify the explosion more. But closing the entrance and praying was the only hope they had.
10 seconds.
“Just cover it! Protect Lloyd!” Kai demanded, looking back at the entrance with an angry yet determined expression.
“I'm not doing anything until you come here!” Zane looked back at Kai with a pleading look.
“Just do it!” The determination in his voice didn't falter in response. He turned his head away from the nindroid, looking back at the geyser instead.
Zane couldn't understand where the fire ninja got this sudden wave of confidence, but it wasn't anything new. If Kai was ever going to do something, he would do it with all the confidence in the world. Zane had even calculated that Kai's all-time win rate was 50.1%.
With the attitude that Kai gave to him Zane knew he was going to do something.
Something Zane wouldn't be able to think of in a million years.
Something stupid.
And when Kai decides to do something stupid, there was no stopping him.
That's just how Kai was.
So with a heavy heart, Zane started to cover the entrance with ice. Praying that 0.1 percent was enough to tip the odds in their favor, even though he had already calculated everything and knew it wasn't enough. Nothing would be enough.
And if there was a possibility of survival, it was inside the tunnel, not outside.
As the ice started to cover the entrance, Kai slyly smiled at him for finally complying. Zane absolutely hated it. Now, even if they somehow survived inside the tunnel, Kai wasn't going to. Zane's stomach twisted with the thought of it.
Is this what they felt like when he sacrificed himself while fighting the Overlord? The Nindroid thought for a moment.
“Just what are you going to do, Kai?” Zane could do nothing but ask through the comm. The nindroid couldn't see his teammate anymore but continued to layer ice upon ice as requested. The ice had thickened enough to bend light in an unrecognizable way.
5 seconds were left.
“What I do best,” Kai answered with unnerving confidence. He cracked his neck, warming up for whatever he was about to do that even he didn't think about.
4
He never did.
3
And it always worked out fine. They were going to be fine.
2
Kai had made a promise.
1
“I'll just fight fire with fire.“
And he was going to keep that promise even if it killed him.