Chapter One:
"Kai- the falcons spotted Pythor!" Kai heard Jay shout from the deck.
The ninja of fire grabbed his elemental golden weapon and rushed up to the deck. Now's my chance to prove I'm the green ninja! he thought to himself. Once he had joined the others on the deck, images sent from Zane's robotic falcon showed Pythor and the serpentine moving toward the Fire Temple. Trapped in a cage was Lloyd, who looked miserable. Nya changed the screen and it now showed the Fire Temple, which had grown extremely unstable since the last time they had been there, and they were unable to use their weapons. Sensei Wu and Garmadon led the way into the volcano's central cavern. "There's Lloyd." Kai whispered once he saw the sandy-haired kid sitting in the cage at the center of the cavern.
They began climbing down the steep ledge, just as a clanking sound came from a Constrictai's metal shovel hitting something on the dirt. Pythor excitedly shoved the Constrictai aside, then cleared away the rest of the dirt with his tail, revealing a silver fang-shaped blade. He picked it up and held it in the air, "The third Fang Blade is ours!" He shouted in triumph. As Pythor examined the surface of the blade, something in the reflection caught his attention- "Ninja- attack!" The Anacondrai shouted, pointing in the direction of the ninja.
"Attack like there is no tomorrow!" Sensei shouted to his students, who obeyed, battling their Serpentine enemies fiercely.
"Wind!" Jay used his true potential to fly across a gap from one island to another. Across the cavern, Kai could see Zane also use his new elemental powers. Why haven't I unlocked my powers yet?!Kai thought angrily, It's not fair!Unable to resist any longer, he drew his sword, grinning at the sight of Serpentine warriors backing away from the flaming weapon.
"Kai! You're compromising our safety!" Zane shouted from across the cavern. But the ninja of fire was too focused on fighting the five Serpentine who now surrounded him on a stone island. The fire ninja spun around, knocking all five of his opponents into the burning lava below.
Something lashed out from behind Kai, twisting him around and sending him crashing to the floor. He could hear his sword fall to the ground, out of reach. Skales slithered over to the weapon- it was he who, using his long blue tail as a whip, had sent the ninja falling to the floor. He picked it up, chuckling softly to himself. The Hypnobrai general faced Kai, lifting the sword above his head, the tip pointing down toward the fallen ninja. "You're mine now, ninja!" Skales hissed as he plunged the flaming blade downwards, directly into Kai's right shoulder. The ninja let out an involuntary scream of pain, blood oozing out the wound.
Jay heard Kai's scream and looked over in time to see Skales yank the sword out of his brothers shoulder. The agonized howl of pain that followed was louder than the first. "Kai!" Using Spinjitzu, Jay rushed over to his friends aid, slamming into Skales, who had been about to finish the fire ninja with another stab through the heart. Unfortunately, the unbalanced Serpentine's tail hit Kai's chest, sending the wounded ninja flying. He hit the wall of the volcano with a thud, knocked unconscious.
"We have to get out of here!" Zane shouted. By now most of the Serpentine had gone, including Pythor who had left with both Lloyd and the Fang Blade.
Jay nodded. "But what about Kai?"
"I'll get him." Cole volunteered. While the other ninja, Sensei Wu, and Garmadon made their way out of the Temple, Cole used Spinjitzu to get to his fallen brother. When he saw the extent of Kai's injuries he frowned- the ninja of fire was in worse shape than he had thought. Kai's ninja suit had been burned and torn in many places, revealing the severity of the many wounds he had received. The fire sword had cut through bone, a fragment of which jutted out of the skin. Cole looked away for a moment, then gently picked up Kai's unconscious body. There would be time to take care of him later. Now, all that was important was getting out of the volcano.
Once everyone was back on board the Bounty, Sensei quickly flew them to Ninjago City, where Kai was rushed to the emergency room. The doctors had done their best, but doubted Kai would ever make a full recovery.
Nya sat by her brothers bed, hand in his, silently willing him to be well again. Jay stood behind her, trying to comfort her. However, it is hard to comfort someone when you're having your own doubts.
The door opened. Everyone looked up expectantly to see the doctor walk into the room, a grim expression on his face. He was silent for a brief moment, then looked at Nya, " . . . . I don't like having to tell people news like this, but I'm sorry . . . your brother . . .didn't make it."
A shocked silence filled the room. Zane stood and walked across the room. He put a hand on Nya's shoulder, "I am sorry for your loss. We will miss Kai- he was a friend to all of us." Nya nodded, then got up and walked out of the room.
After the funeral, Zane and the remaining two ninja returned to the Bounty. Each would miss their lost brother, but now was not the time for mourning. Now, the best way to honor Kai would be to make sure Pythor never succeeded in awakening the Devourer, now an even harder task- only one fang blade remained to be found.