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“Kai! Let’s move!” Nya’s voice rang out, sharp and urgent, from the hall.
He sprinted toward the courtyard, where the team was already gathering. Zane stood at the center, his eyes projecting a holographic map.
“Ninjago City,” Lloyd said, pointing to the glowing center of the map. “The ground is splitting apart. Buildings are... floating. We don’t know what’s causing it, but Master Wu was mumbling something about coalescence...”
“Floating buildings?” Jay blurted out, still pulling on his gloves. “What, did gravity take a day off?”
“No time for jokes!” Lloyd snapped, his voice oddly sharp enough to cut through the tension. “This is bigger than anything we’ve faced. We need to move, now.”
Kai exchanged a quick glance with Nya, then turned back to Lloyd. “What’s the plan?”
“Master Wu has The Bounty ready,” Lloyd said. “It’ll take us to the center, but we’ll need air support. Jay, Kai I need both of you to use your air mechs to stop buildings from crashing back onto the city and clear a path for the Bounty. The rest of us will help recover people that are in danger!”
Kai nodded, but before he could move, Lloyd shouted, “And hurry! Every second counts!”
Kai didn’t need to be told twice. He bolted for the hangar, Jay hot on his heels.
“Think it’s some giant monster this time?” Jay asked, his voice a mix of nerves and forced humor.
Kai ignored him, his focus locked on the Fire mech towering in the corner. Its red and gold armor gleamed, a reassuring sight amidst the chaos. He climbed into the cockpit, his hands flying over the controls.
“Let’s hope it’s just a monster,” Kai muttered under his breath.
The Bounty’s engines roared to life, its massive form lifting into the sky. Kai’s mech rumbled as he powered it up, flames bursting from the exhaust. Jay’s Storm Mech sprang to life beside him, crackling with electricity.
“Follow the Bounty!” Lloyd’s voice crackled over the comms.
Kai tightened his grip on the controls as they flew across the terrain. The ground trembled beneath them, cracks splintering in all directions. As they crested a hill, Ninjago City came into view—and Kai’s stomach dropped.
The city was unrecognizable. Towers floated precariously in mid-air, their foundations torn apart. Lightning danced across the sky, illuminating massive rifts that shimmered like broken glass. Chunks of land hovered, defying gravity as chaos reigned below.
“This... this is bad,” Jay muttered, his usual chatter gone.
“No kidding,” Kai replied, his voice grim.
Ahead, the Bounty surged forward, its shadow cutting across the crumbling cityscape.
“Stay sharp!” Lloyd called out over the comms. “Kai, Jay, keep the paths clear and secure the perimeter. Nya, start scanning for civilians!”
Kai’s Fire mech roared as he flew through the air alongside Jay, who was already weaving between the floating buildings in his Storm Fighter Mech. The wind howled around them, carrying the screams of civilians and the groan of collapsing structures. Below, the Bounty glided through the chaos, its engines struggling to keep steady amidst the turbulent air currents.
“Alright, Kai,” Jay’s voice crackled through the comms, tinged with both excitement and panic. “We’ve got some real heavyweights here! You take the left, and I’ll wrangle the big one up ahead!”
“Got it!” Kai replied, his grip tightening on the controls. He guided his mech toward a spiraling skyscraper that was dangerously close to tilting into another building. Flames shot from his boosters as he angled his mech to push against the structure, stabilizing it with bursts of controlled heat to fuse its loose edges.
The strain was intense, his muscles taut as he fought to keep the building from collapsing. “This thing’s heavier than it looks!” he muttered.
“You’re telling me!” Jay shouted, his mech firing a grappling hook into the side of an enormous tower. The line strained as the mech pulled the building away from a cluster of civilians below.
From the Bounty, Lloyd’s voice rang out over the comms. “Nya, Zane, Cole, you’re up! Get to the floating platforms and rescue anyone you can. Focus on those being pulled toward the rifts!”
The three ninja leapt from the Bounty with precision, their figures silhouetted against the swirling chaos. Nya hit the ground running, water spiraling around her as she used her elemental power to form bridges for stranded civilians.
“Come on! Up we go!” she shouted, catching a falling child in a wave and carrying hem to safety.
Zane moved with calm efficiency, ice spreading from his feet to create stable ground for people clinging to precarious ledges. His voice remained steady as he guided them. “Stay close to me. Do not look down.”
Cole leapt from platform to platform, his Earth powers sending tremors through unstable structures, solidifying them just enough to hold weight. He caught a woman mid-air, landing on a nearby rooftop with a grunt. “Got you! You’re safe now.”
Lloyd was the last to leap, using bursts of green energy to propel himself between floating debris. His focus was on those being sucked toward the rifts, their bodies flailing helplessly as the currents dragged them in.
“I’ve got them!” he shouted, his hand glowing as he sent tendrils of green energy to pull civilians back to safety.
“Lloyd, watch your left!” Nya called, her voice sharp. A section of a crumbling building was breaking apart, falling toward him.
Lloyd pivoted mid-air, his energy shield flaring as he deflected the debris. He landed with a roll, catching his breath. “Thanks, Nya!”
Above, Kai and Jay continued their desperate attempts to hold the floating buildings at bay.
“I don’t know how much longer I can hold this one!” Kai shouted, sweat dripping down his temple as his mech strained against the weight of the collapsing structure.
“You’re not alone, buddy!” Jay replied, his mech firing another grappling hook to tether two smaller buildings together. “But maybe next time we could just fight a giant snake or something?”
“Oh wait! We’re already done that!”
The two mechs flew in sync, their movements coordinated as they worked to shield the Bounty and the civilians below.
Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the air. One of the rifts widened, pulling a massive chunk of debris toward it. The suction was so strong that even the Bounty tilted dangerously.
“Kai! Jay! That debris is headed straight for us!” Lloyd’s voice rang out, the urgency cutting through the comms.
Kai glanced at the massive chunk of floating wreckage and then at Jay. “We’ve got to stop it!”
Jay nodded. “Together!”
Both mechs surged forward, their engines roaring as they intercepted the debris. Kai’s mech latched onto one side, flames bursting as he melted sections to break its momentum. Jay’s mech did the same, his grappling lines straining as he used every ounce of power to slow the massive object.
The rift’s pull was relentless, but together, they managed to divert the debris away from the Bounty and the civilians below. It crashed into an empty section of the city with a thunderous boom.
“Nice save, you two,” Lloyd said through the comms, his tone calmer now but still edged with stress. “But this isn’t over. Keep moving!”
Kai exhaled deeply, his heart pounding. “Yeah, we’re not done yet,” he muttered, pushing his mech forward to face the next challenge.
Below, the rest of the team continued their rescue efforts, their movements a coordinated dance of elemental power and precision. The city was still falling apart, the rifts growing larger, but for now, they were holding on.
Kai's mech hovered mid-air, its exhausts blazing against the chaotic sky. His eyes darted between Jay’s struggling Storm Fighter Mech and the growing number of civilians being pulled dangerously close to the rifts. The city was quieter now—not because the danger had lessened, but because there were fewer people left to cry out for help.
The debris had thinned, and Jay was doing a decent job managing it on his own. But the rifts were relentless, dragging everything within reach into their swirling voids.
Kai’s fists tightened on the controls. He could feel the weight of his earlier decision bearing down on him. He had stayed in the air to protect the city, but now he couldn’t ignore the people still clinging to survival below.
“Jay,” Kai said into the comms, his voice steady but resolute.
“Yeah?” Jay replied, his tone strained as his mech zipped between buildings to tether another piece of debris.
“I’m heading down to help with the civilians.”
“WHAT?” Jay’s voice cracked. “You’re leaving me up here? You know I can’t—”
“You can,” Kai interrupted, his tone firm. “You’re doing fine. The debris isn’t as bad now, and you’re faster than me anyway. But those people—” He glanced down at the chaos below, his heart sinking. “—they need us. I can’t just ignore them.”
Jay was silent for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, go do your thing. But don’t expect me to clean up all this mess alone!”
Kai smirked, though his heart still weighed heavy. “You’ve got this, dude! Just keep the Bounty safe.”
With that, Kai angled his mech downward, flames roaring as he descended into the fray. The ground was a whirlwind of chaos: civilians clinging to crumbling platforms, others being dragged toward the rifts. The rest of the team was spread thin, each ninja pushing themselves to their limits.
Kai landed with a jarring thud, immediately ejecting from his mech. His feet hit the ground running as he ignited his hands, flames swirling around him.
“Nya!” he shouted, spotting his sister forming water bridges for civilians. “Where do you need me?”
Nya glanced back, sweat streaking her face. “Help Lloyd with the rift victims! He’s barely keeping up!”
Kai nodded and sprinted toward the edge of a massive chasm, where Lloyd was straining to pull a group of people back from the rift’s edge. Green energy radiated from his hands, wrapping around a mother and child and dragging them to safety.
“Kai!” Lloyd shouted, relief flashing across his face. “Can you catch anyone falling in? I can’t grab them all!”
“On it!” Kai called back.
He leapt onto a precarious platform, flames bursting from his hands to keep him steady. A civilian tumbled past him, their scream piercing the air. Without hesitation, Kai launched himself after them.
“Gotcha!” he grunted, using a burst of flame to propel them both back to solid ground. He set the man down and turned back to the rift.
More people were being dragged toward it, their bodies flailing as they tried to resist the pull. Kai’s jaw clenched. He couldn’t save everyone, but he’d save as many as he could.
One by one, he leapt between platforms and debris, catching civilians and guiding them to safety. His flames blazed bright, a beacon of hope amidst the chaos.
Above, Jay’s voice crackled through the comms. “Hey, Kai! Could use a little help up here! These buildings aren’t exactly light!”
Kai smirked, even as his chest heaved with effort. “You’ll live, motormouth! Just hold it together a bit longer!”
“I’m holding, I’m holding!” Jay muttered anxiously, his mech zipping past with another tethered building.
As the rift's pull grew stronger, Kai pushed himself harder, his flames burning hotter with every leap. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his muscles screamed in protest, but he refused to stop.
He caught a glimpse of Lloyd nearby, still using his green energy to rescue civilians. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Lloyd gave a small nod—a silent acknowledgment of Kai’s decision.
For now, they were holding on. But as Kai glanced at the growing rift back on The Bounty, its edges crackling with an otherworldly energy, he knew this battle was far from over.
“Hold on kid–” Kai glanced back to see Lloyd carrying a kid in an orange hoodie on his back, bringing back down onto the ground.
The Bounty trembled as it sailed through the chaos, its engines struggling to stay stable against the roaring winds and the violent pull of the rifts. Lloyd stood at the helm, one hand gripping the railing, the other clutching a communicator. His green energy crackled faintly around him, an anchor against the chaos.
“Zane, Nya, Cole!” Lloyd shouted, his voice barely cutting through the deafening roar of the rifts above. “Get back on the Bounty! Master Wu said we need to move closer to figure out what’s causing this!”
“What if we’re too close?” Nya shouted back, her voice strained. She pulled herself onto the deck, drenched in sweat, with a trembling civilian clinging to her arm.
“We don’t have a choice!” Lloyd barked, his voice laced with stress but not anger. “If we don’t stop this now, the whole city will be gone!”
Kai barely heard him, his focus on the skies. He squinted through the wind, searching for Jay’s Storm Mech. “Jay, where are you?!”
The comms crackled with static before Jay’s frantic voice came through. “Uh, yeah, about that—this mech wasn’t exactly built for a storm like this! I’m—whoa!”
Kai’s heart sank as he saw Jay’s mech spiraling out of control, its boosters sputtering against the relentless pull of the rift. He hastily grabbed a hooked rope tied onto the bounty, attaching a carabiner around his waist onto the rope as well.
Before leaping off the edge of the Bounty. Flames erupted from his hands as he launched himself into the air, his instincts driving him toward his teammate.
Jay’s mech tilted dangerously, a tether snapping as it lurched toward the rift. “Kai! Little help here!”
“I’m coming!” Kai growled, pushing his flames harder. He reached out, his fingers brushing against the mech’s frame and he met Jay's worried eyes. The red ninja began fumbling to hook the rope onto the mech.
“First master–” Red ninja cursed, finally adjusting his grip to find the place to hook the storm mech.
He was going to make it! A satisfied grin growing on his face, the lightning ninja looking relieved at the sight.
Fsm, the way he's totally going to rub this all over in Jay’s face once everything is over. Already throwing the largest shit-eating grin in Jay’s direction, the other looked like he was stuck between scowling and trying not to laugh in sheer relief.
But then the rift surged, its pull intensifying with a sudden, violent force.
The cool glass beneath his fingers yanked from his grasp.
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“JAY!”
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Kai screamed as the mech was torn away from him, spiraling into the glowing void.
For the slightest moment, he could see Jay’s face fell from beneath the glass frame. It looked like he was going to shout or scream but the sound was cut short. The rift immediately swallowed him whole.
As the harsh cold wind blew against his hair and bit at his skin, he was left in absolute silence. There was no anxious voice calling out for him anymore, no blue mech left for him to hook onto.
And yet, Kai still held his breath waiting for the blue ninja to let out a stupid badly timed joke.
This time however, he was left without a punchline.
Then, the brunette heard someone screaming.
Maybe Jay was alive!
Only for him to slowly and excruciatingly come to the realization at how much his throat began to hurt and the corner of his eyes feeling like they were on fire as he floated through the purplish-orange coloured sky.
A large piece of metal seemed to be heading straight at him—
Oh…
Oh shit.
It had hit him squarely in the chest, slamming him back into The Bounty’s walls.
Kai fell back to the Bounty, he landed hard on the deck. His breath came in ragged gasps, his vision blurring as he stared at the rift where Jay had disappeared.
The blue piece of scrap metal then fell loudly in front of him.
There was a smiley face sticker on it.
A newfound wave of nausea rolled through him, he felt sick—
“Kai!”
Lloyd’s voice snapped him back to reality. He turned to see his leader gripping the controls with white-knuckled hands. “We’re getting sucked into the rifts! Hang on—!”
The Bounty shuddered violently, its frame groaning as another surge from the rift tore through the air.
The deck tilted sharply, sending the others scrambling to stay on. Nya was the first to lose her footing, her scream piercing the chaos as she slid toward the edge.
“Nya!” Kai yelled, flames igniting as he dove after her. He managed to grab her hand, his grip tightening desperately.
“Pl-please don’t let go!” she pleaded, her voice trembling as her body swayed upwards towards the one of the rifts.
“I won’t!” Kai gritted through clenched teeth, pulling her back toward the deck.
“I promise!”
She was so close to having both feet back on the Bounty before the howling wind surged again.
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His fingers slipped.
“Kai!” Nya screamed as she was torn from his grasp, her figure disappearing into a smaller rift.
Kai’s knees buckled hitting the deck, his eyes staring in horror.
Nya was dead gone—
Because he let go.
How many promises was he going to break today?
“Kai please! You have to get up!” Lloyd’s voice broke through the chaos, his face pale, as he glanced between Kai and the rift that had stolen his sister away.
The deck bucked violently again, and this time, Zane’s ice anchors on his hands and The Bounty shattered under the pressure. The Nindroid remained eerily calm, his blue eyes meeting Kai’s. “Take care of one another!” he yelled before the rift claimed him.
“Zane—” Kai shouted, his voice hoarse as he watched his brother disappear into the void.
Cole’s eyes widened in shock and worry, his strength holding him steady for a moment longer. But even his grip faltered as the Bounty lurched again, and he was ripped free, desperately grabbing on the ship's railings.
“We’ll be okay!” Cole hollered, his voice fading as he was wrenched off the railings and into the rift.
Kai’s chest heaved as he looked around. The deck was almost empty.
“Kai!” Lloyd called again, his green energy flaring as he tried to steady the ship. “We need to stick together!”
The Bounty shuddered violently, its engines sputtering as it tilted dangerously close to the rift’s edge. The ship groaned, pieces of it being torn away into the vortex.
Suddenly, the deck gave a sharp lurch, and Lloyd too lost his footing.
Kai could feel his heart pounding against his ears as he watched the blond stumble, his green energy flickering wildly around him as he tried to regain balance.
“Lloyd!” Kai managed to gasp out, flames surging as he sprinted toward his younger brother.
Lloyd’s eyes widened as the Bounty tilted sharply, flinging him over the edge. “KAI—!” he cried out, his voice filled with desperation.
Kai rushed out, desperately using his left hand to quickly seize the other’s wrist tightly. His chest pressed close over the edge, his right hand in a death grip against the railings trying to pull the younger back onto the ship.
The red ninja gave a weak smile at him, his breaths coming in ragged bursts. His younger brother dangling like a ragdoll against the wind.
“I’ve gotcha bud—” He huffed out, maintaining his grip, despite the way his arm and lungs were screaming in protest. Taking a moment to throwing his head back to laugh in sheer disbelief.
Who cared if they were mere moments away from getting absorbed into a rift! At least he had Lloyd still with him! They could figure everything out tog—
He didn’t hear Lloyd shouting for him—
He could only stare in horror as a fairly large stray piece of rubble brutally slammed into the blond’s chest, ripping him away from his grasp.
The Green Ninja fell.
his shouts absent as he plummeted into the ground below. Falling like a sparrow hit by a slingshot, leaving Kai with eerie silence.
It was like some twisted form of irony, watching him fall into the darkness below like he had done for Cole not so long ago.
“NO!” Kai shrieked, his voice breaking as he collapsed back onto the floor, his back against the walls reaching out his hands blindly to latch onto the railings.
“No… No… No—”
The height was too large.
No one could survive from this height.
The Bounty trembled beneath him, its frame cracking as it was pulled further into the rift. Kai clung to the railings, his vision blurring as he fought to stay on board.
If the others were missing and possibly dead…
That meant Lloyd…
He refused to think about it.
He was alone now, the winds howling around him as the ship was consumed by the glowing void. The last thing he saw was swirling light before everything went dark.
The first thing that Kai felt was the ground hitting his face, he slowly got up to glance around. They all were on the ground except Nya.
…He was in the Phantasm Cave again.
“How did you know it wasn't real?” He heard Lloyd from behind him.
“I saw Jay, the love of my life but he didn't know who I was. I know the real Jay could never forget me.”
Jay…
It was his fault Jay was gone in the first place.
If he had just stayed in his mech as he was supposed to be he wouldn't have—
“It couldn't be real.” Nya interrupted his thoughts.
Yeah… It just couldn't be.
Right?
As they made their way out of the darkness, Kai couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes.