Chapter 4: Fire and Water

After yesterday's failed simulation, Kai was acting weird around me, he remained silent during meals, he never wanted to make eye contact with me. Maybe it was because of the conversation in the corridor yesterday, but during training he seemed off, unfocused. I didn't talk to him either, I didn't want to provoke him more.

The only time I saw Kai talking that day was with Nya, but I didn't know what they were talking about. I hoped that Kai would get out this phase soon, or we would never be able to kill a Kaiju within the month.

Kai's POV

After I saw into Ember's memories, I didn't know what to think of her. She reminded me of myself when I was 5, right before the first Kaiju attack, right before I lost everything.

Flashback

Dad and I were watching a football match on the television, when Mom came in and told us to eat dinner. I didn't want to miss any part of the football match, the team Dad and I were rooting for was going to win.

"Come on dear, the food's gonna get cold," Mom said.

"Just a little longer," I pleaded with those big puppy eyes.

"No, we're eating now."

The anger rose up in me like the fire Dad possessed, and it all burst out. "WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LIKE THIS MOM?! I JUST WANNA FINISH THE MATCH! I HATE YOU!"

I stormed out of the house, angry tears forming in my eyes. I wiped them away quickly. I looked back at my house, and saw my sister running out, calling my name, telling me to come back.

"I'm not going back there Nya. They're too controlling!" I said.

Suddenly, I heard a deafening roar in the distance, unlike anything I had heard before. And then I saw fighter jets soaring over me and Nya, bombing something massive in the distance. Nya, three years old at the time, got scared and started crying. I held her in my arms, telling her not to cry, and that everything would be alright.

I didn't feel that way though.

The roaring got louder and louder, the footsteps shaking the ground. Sweat started to bead on my forehead and I saw Mom and Dad run out of the house, looking for me and Nya. I ran, trying not to bring Nya along with me, but she refused to let go of my hand. I reached the outskirts of my village, panting heavily, from the running or from my rage, I didn't know. I saw the silhouette of a gigantic monster, only a few of its steps away from me. Nya buried her head in my shoulder; I just stood there in shock as the monster got closer, and closer. I saw it swatting fighter jets and stepping on tanks like they were ants and flies. I covered my ears, using my body to cover Nya's, ready for the worst. I felt Nya hyperventillating, crying, and I wanted to do the same.

I didn't notice my parents running past me, past the monster.

The Kaiju was so close, and then suddenly, it turned around. I looked up, wondering why I wasn't dead. I saw Mom and Dad fending off the monster, their elements of fire and water combined, they aimed for the eyes, blinding it.

"Run!" Dad shouted.

"Cmon Nya, we gotta go! Be strong!" I tugged at Nya's hand, and we ran as fast as we could. I looked back at Mom and Dad, seeing them diving away from a big step from the monster. I stopped in my tracks, watching them buy me and Nya time to escape. Nya pulled my hand, signalling me to run. I didn't, just standing there, watching the people that raised me fight the monster. It was waving its arms around wildly, trying to swat them like how it did the planes.

And then suddenly, I saw the light of the fire disappear under a claw and the glow of water fade under the monster's foot.

"Mom? Dad?" I whispered. I already knew what was happening, tears once again forming in my eyes, my voice cracking. Nya saw it already, her reaction was better than mine.

"Lets go!" I heard her shout. I wiped away my tears. I had to stay strong, for Nya. We ran, and ran, all the way to Jamanakai Village, where we collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion.

When I woke up, I saw an old man above me, checking to see whether I was alright.

That man was Sensei Wu, the man who took me and my sister in.

Flashback ends

Ember had run away from her home, her family. I did as well, except I never saw my parents again. Maybe one day, when the same thing happened to her, she would understand. But I didn't want it to happen to her. No one should have to go through what I did.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice.

"Kai?"

I whipped around, expecting too see someone or something, but all that was behind me was empty air. I remembered hearing that voice somewhere, I just couldn't remember who's it was.

"Kai?"

I heard it again. I recognized it now. It was my father's, I hadn't heard it in so long, I had almost forgotten what it sounded like.

"Dad?" I asked, looking around for any sign of the fire elemental.

"Hey Kai, can I talk to you for a sec?"

I saw Nya walking towards me, looking kinda confused about something.

"Have you been hearing Mom and Dad's voices today?"

I nodded. "You too?"

Nya nodded as well. "It's so strange, this never happened before, why is it happening now?"

"Wanna go find out?" I smirked.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Immediately, we ran to the place where our motorcycles were, (I just like motorcycles ok)and sped off to our old home, the place I hadn't gone to for 10 years. I reached the outskirts of my village, and stopped the vehicle, Nya following behind me.

"This is where Mom and Dad..."

"Yea. Let's just get this over with," Nya said, getting off her motorcycle. I did the same, and went to the place where I saw the glow of fire and water die out, hoping that this would give us some answers.

Suddenly, I felt my foot sink into a puddle of water. I pulled it out, confused, because it hadn't rained in a week. Looking down, the water was glowing.

"...Kai?"

I turned to look at Nya, and she was standing right beside a fire, burning with no fuel whatsoever. I stared at the fire. It was calling to me, and now I heard Dad's voice, louder this time. Nya seemed to hear Mom's voice from the water. I headed towards the fire, Nya went for the water. The fire grew brighter as I got closer, I felt Dad's presence in it.

Suddenly, the fire turned into a glowing dragon, it charged towards me, but I heard Dad's voice telling me to stand still, not to run. I looked a Nya, same thing was happening to her with a water dragon.

The dragons passed through me and Nya, disappearing as they combined with our bodies. It felt like my body was on fire. I looked at Nya, her eyes were glowing blue.

"Kai, your eyes...they're glowing orange," Nya said.

"Same for you, they're blue," I replied.

The burning sensation faded and the glow in me and Nya's eyes disappeared. I felt different, a sense of power in me.

"Fire."

Dad's voice again. He instructed me to channel that new sense of power into my hand. Following his instructions, my hand caught on fire. I turned to look at Nya, she was controlling water, just like Mom could.

I was starting to panic from my flaming hand, I quickly drew my energy away from there and the fire died down.

Even though Mom and Dad weren't there, I felt their presence in me, as if they were the dragons that had given me the power. I looked to the ground, where the fire and water used to be, and for a split second, I saw Mom and Dad there. I smiled.

"Cmon Nya, let's go home."

On the way home, the resolve to prevent people from losing their family like me burned bright like the element that I now controlled.

Reaching the Jaeger site in Ninjago city, Nya and I were bombarded with questions from the team.

"It's a long story, we'll tell you during dinner," I replied, looking at Nya and smirking.

I may have lost my parents, but here, I have a new family.