The cage they were in was too small in widths, barely enough to fit the three ninjas that were inside, and Kai couldn't help but wonder what kind of dragon would fit in this cage that Zane, Jay and the boy were in. same.

But even so, his fate was uncertain. Only a few days enslaved in the hunters' camp and suddenly they were taken to a strange place in the First Kingdom.

Kai ran his fingers through Zane's synthetic hair as the Dragon Hunters traversed the endless wilderness of the First Realm. Zane and Jay had finally fallen asleep, but that didn't work out for Kai no matter how hard he tried.

It wasn't like he wanted to get up, for the First Spinjitzu Master no, he was exhausted. But a little feeling kept him awake. A feeling he hadn't felt with this intensity in years.

Nya had nicknamed him "Big Brother Instinct". The gist was that if something truly horrible ever happened to someone he considered his family, he would know it.

And so far, it still hasn't let him down. In her younger years, she had doubted it, but after seeing how Nya almost fell from a small ravine when she was little, she did not hesitate to go for her in order to save her in time. Dese then has not distrusted that instinct again.

But right now her nerves were feeling through the air, and a voice in her head was telling her that something bad was going to happen very soon.

Cole and Wu hadn't been able to accompany them on this trip, so if things got tough, they wouldn't have anyone to rescue them, which was ... less than reassuring.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop, hitting the three ninjas and waking Zane and Jay.

Without much hesitation, the dragon hunters pulled the three out of the cage they were in by tying the chains around their bodies tightly and forcing them to their knees, discouraging any escape attempts.

Kai couldn't help looking at their location. It was still a barren wasteland covered in dust and death, but, if Kai wasn't hallucinating like a certain blue ninja, they seemed to be by the side of a lake.

The ledge they were standing on was a few feet above the water, but despite the distance, Kai couldn't help the fear that gripped his heart at the sight of that amount of water. He could swim now (thanks to Nya), but not very well, and his aquaphobia was far from disappearing.

Iron Baron approached the three captives and looked at them.

"Today we are hunting a very special dragon," he spoke aloud, apparently ending his observation. Kai wasn't sure if he was talking to the ninja or the other dragon hunters. He glanced at the lake and pointed to the center - For years, it has evaded us, but today we are bringing home the Great Water Dragon! -

The dragon hunters cheered, sending a chill down Kai's spine. He shot a worried look at Zane and Jay.

"Bring the blue," Iron Baron ordered.

To Kai and Zane's horror, a pair of hunters roughly grabbed the blue ninja and dragged him to the edge. They tied a bondage-resistant looking chain around Jay, and that's when Kai realized what was happening.

They were being used as bait.

This was what Kai's bad presence was all about.

- Any last words? asked one of the hunters, preparing to push Jay over the edge.

- WAIT! Kai yelled, trying to stand up. He was roughly pushed down, his face on the ground.

To his surprise, the hunter stopped. They looked at Iron Baron, searching for orders. The leader of the hunters waved his hand and the hunter pushed Jay off the edge, but kept a strong grip on his chain.

Iron Baron gave Kai a long look, practically daring him to speak again.

- Waiting! You can't just throw it into the lake just like that - Kai repeated, trying to at least lift his gaze from the ground - Don't you think it would be a bad idea to put the Master of Lightning in the water? -

The baron looked at him confused, but Zane seemed to realize what he was trying to say.

- If you throw Jay into the water, he will be able to use his powers and electrocute all the water -

One of the hunters, the one with a spider-legged machine, approached him - Yes of course. We have the Dragon Sword with us -

But Zane was quick to counter - Which would be useless. If Jay were in the water, he would act as a conductor and could electrify the water, with or without the blade. And getting electrocuted by Jay can be very painful -

The hunter holding Jay looked at him uneasily as if he was going to explode at any moment.

But Iron Baron wasn't allowing it - Bah! - he scoffed - If you think using it as bait is such a bad idea, why don't you do it yourself? -

Kai's blood ran cold. There was no way he was letting Zane do this. As much as she didn't want to lose Jay, she didn't want to lose Zane, either. No again.

Before Zane could respond, Kai beat him to it - What about me? -

From his spot on the ground, he couldn't see the look of panic Zane was throwing, but he wouldn't have stopped him anyway.

Iron Baron shot him a look, a silent gesture to continue. Kai swallowed nervously. I couldn't spoil this. If he did, he had a good chance of losing Jay or Zane.

- Jay is the Master of Lightning, and you couldn't get him out of the water without risking an electric shock. Zane is the master of ice. It could just freeze the water. Also, it is made of metal, so it would sink very soon -

(Off to the side, Zane seemed almost offended by the suggestion that it would sink, but kept silent)

- And I am ... I am the Master of Fire. I couldn't use my powers at all in the water - Kai's voice wavered slightly. He raised his head to meet Iron Baron's gaze - It would be the perfect bait for your hunt -

Kai held his breath as Iron Baron thought for a second.

He made a silent gesture towards the hunter. Kai's eyes widened as the hunter held Jay as if to throw him, but let out a sigh of relief once Jay was roughly thrown at them, colliding with Zane once he landed. Meanwhile, two hunters grabbed Kai from behind and dragged him to the edge of the lake. The long chain was attached to it, Iron Baron holding the other end. He pushed Kai but tightened the chain so that it almost hung over the edge.

Kai stared at the water with wide eyes. He couldn't even see the bottom.

- If you do not return with that dragon - Iron Baron whispered in his ear - I will see that your friends are the ones used as bait, no matter how many of my hunters are affected -

And then they dropped it.

The crackling of the water drowned out Zane's scream.

The chain weighed around his waist, dragging him further into the cold, black abyss below.

Kai's first instincts were to start climbing. He started kicking and flailing, practically scratching himself on his way to the surface.

But then he saw the dark silhouettes of Jay and Zane, hunched over the ledge.

"If you come without that dragon, I'll see to it that your friends are used as bait, no matter how many of my hunters are affected."

And he stopped. Just hearing Iron Baron's words in his mind again made him pause in his attempt to surface.

He let the chains drag him down.

For the first time in his entire life, he feared more than water.

The water was so dark now, and there was still no sign of the bottom.

It felt like his lungs were about to explode.

The chain on him loosened and fell under him, dragging him even lower.

The water burned his throat and lungs.

The soft sand cradled her body.

From there, huge eyes stared directly at him from the distance of the water.

And without realizing it, Kai had passed out.

At least his last thoughts were telling him that the others would at least be safe.

-------------------------------------------------- -----

- Kai! - Zane and Jay screamed in terror when they saw how Iron Baron threw Kai into the water.

- Hunters! Have your weapons ready, the Water Dragon must not be long in coming towards our trap! - Iron Baron ordered as he limped with his iron leg towards his hunters.

- Yes! - The hunters cheered and ran to their jobs and combat stations.

Zane had in his head the idea of ​​being able to break his chains that bound him and to be able to run towards that lake and dive to be able to swim with Kai and bring him to the surface.

The truth is that Zane did not understand why he did that, of course he knew that except for Jay and Zane was relieved by that, but he did not want Kai to become the bait for the Water Dragon instead of Jay. He wanted Kai to think about something else, maybe another way to save himself as well, Zane didn't like the idea of ​​seeing one of his brothers submerged in that deep lake by those deranged dragon hunters.

But even so, Zane prayed that Kai would get out of the water soon and with that dragon that his captors wanted so much.

- Boss, something is moving in the water! - shouts one of the hunters when observing how small waves moved in the water.

In the lake you could see very well from the surface the shape of the dragon swimming around the chain to which Kai was tied, it seemed to be circling around him as he watched it.

- Yes - Iron Baron laughed maliciously - Prepare the chains and iron nets - he orders while his hunters pay attention to him.

The hunters soon had their iron nets and harpoons ready, which incidentally had chains.

- Fire! - shouted Iron Baron as he gave the order to launch the nets.

All the hunters threw their nets and harpoons into the water from their vehicles. Inside the water, the imposing water dragon was watching Kai, who had been knocked unconscious from lack of oxygen. However, the sound of the harpoons and nets falling into the water alerted the dragon who was now trying to escape by swimming in another direction, but even though he wanted to flee, several of the chains managed to get tangled in his body, neck and legs, at the same time as being captured. by some of the iron nets.

- Sir, we have it - I speak Heavy Metal to be aware of the chains and nets.

- Excellent! - The leader of the hunters spoke proudly - Get on that dragon now! And don't let them escape! - I look at that as Jay and Zane kept looking towards where Kai was submerged - And also raise the guy in red, he already did his part. Let's see if he's still alive - he murmurs in the last part before getting into his big armored truck.

- You heard men! Get the dragon and the ninja out of the water! And hold on to those chains! - order Heavy Metal.

Some hunters were quick to yank Kai's chains out of the water. And while they were doing that, Zane and Jay were pushed back into their cage.

Both ninjas tried to resist the grip of their captors, they just wanted to break free of their chains and run towards Kai to help him.

But that was not possible.

The hunters abruptly pushed both ninjas towards their cage while two other hunters were dragging Kai with both hands while he was still unconscious and wet all over his body. It seemed that the hunters had no intention of checking if he was alive or not.

- Kai! - Zane tried to get closer to Kai, but the hunters stopped him. Instead the hunters also threw the unconscious ninja into the cage with them, luckily Zane was skilled at catching him.

Kai's body was limp, heavy, wet and very cold. Zane got too worried that he couldn't feel her pulse or her breathing. Zane trembled with fear at the feel of his brother's body cold and heavy.

Gently as he could, Zane laid Kai on his back - Kai, please! Please wake up! Zane yelled at Kai but he didn't seem to respond.

- Kai, please you must wake up! - Jay begged him, shaking him by the shoulders.

- He's not breathing! There must be water in his lungs! Zane immediately started giving Kai CPR, pressing down hard on his chest so he could make Kai expel the water from his lungs.

- Kai, please wake up! Come back with us please! - Zane shouted louder as he continued pressing Kai's chest harder, and Zane's strength and despair had so much faith that he suddenly began to hit Kai's chest with both hands to be able to make the water expelled from Kai's body. his brother - Please Kai! Wake up! -

- Come on Kai you must wake up! - Jay yells, thinking that maybe his screams would be heard by Kai.

After such harsh blows to his chest, Kai suddenly woke up as he began to gasp rapidly and cough up all the water in his lungs.

His throat started to hurt so badly from coughing too much, Kai didn't know how much water he had swallowed, but his chest hurt too much, then he started to feel cold ... very cold ...

Why did I feel cold ...?

- Ka! Kai, ah, thanks to the First Master that you are well! - Jay cheered as he grabbed Kai and hugged him tightly.

Kai was still coughing, his sight was somewhat blurry and he faintly discovered that he was no longer submerged in the lake with the dragon.

Much to your relief.

But he could see how Jay was squeezing him too tight. At last he had regained some air, he is again deprived of it by Jay, who was squeezing it too much.

- J-Jay ... - Kai moaned - P-Please ... let me ... breathe ... - The more Jay squeezed him, the more sore Kai felt.

Jay quickly noticed this and stopped hugging Kai.

- Sorry! Sorry! - Jay quickly let Kai take a breath, but stayed close to him. Like Zane.

When Kai had a chance to breathe again, he suddenly heard the low moan of the Water Dragon who was being dragged out of the lake like some kind of fish.

- Was he captured ...? - Kai asked suddenly with a rather vicious voice as he kept his gaze lost and still lying on the ground.

- That? Zane looked confused at what Kai said.

- The dragon ... - I take a deep breath - Was it captured ...? -

- Yes - Zane looks down, before looking askance as the hunters placed the dragon in one of the trucks by placing more chains on it.

- I saw him ... - his voice sounded still tired, but at the same time empty of expression - The dragon ... seemed a little fearful when he saw me submerged in the water ... he was swimming free in the lake. ... after seeing me he seemed to be curious ... he saw the chains tied to me and seemed to intend to cut them and free me ... -

Hearing that from Kai, a tight knot began to form on Jay and Zane's breasts, they didn't say anything and just looked down.

- The dragon ... it reminded me of Nya ... it had the same color as her eyes, you know ...? - She smiled weakly at the thought of her little sister's face forming in her mind.

Being in the water, Kai only thought of his family, and when he saw the dragon very close to him he thought of Nya, his little sister. Sometimes he wondered in How would everyone be in Ninjago? Would they be alright? Would she and Lloyd be hiding from Garmadon?

Kai didn't quite know it since he was trapped with his friends in this realm and far from home.

- Kai - Zane called his attention in a serious way, but calm at the same time - You need to rest, so you can regain your strength - he placed his hand on Kai's shoulder while giving him a sincere reassuring smile.

- You know ... - he coughed a little, but continued - I'm glad I was the bait and not one of you ... I couldn't bear ... that one of you was the bait for that dragon ... -

Zane seemed to flinch at the memory of that, and Jay just looked shocked, but didn't show it.

- Come on - Zane sat next to him and gently placed Kai on his lap - Don't think about it and rest, okay? -

"Whatever you say ..." he sighed deeply as he closed his eyes.

Seeing that Kai had fallen asleep, Zane and Jay seemed to be calmer now.

Hours had passed since the hunters returned with them to the camp, bringing the Water Dragon as a reward. When they arrived, during the night Cole and little Wu managed to go with them to see if they were okay, since during the evening their cage was less watched by hunters.

Kai was still asleep, but as soon as Zane and Jay told him what had happened at the lake, Cole seemed to want to explode in the face of Iron Baron and his other hunters, but for his sake, it would be better to keep his identity still a secret.

Using one of his brothers as dragon bait, Cole would never forgive him.

After Cole made sure that Kai was okay, Cole returned to his job accompanied by Wu, so as not to arouse suspicion from the two of them.

After a few minutes, when Cole and Wu left, Kai woke up from his restful sleep and noticed that they were no longer in the lake, but in the hunter's camp. He also wondered if Cole and Wu came to visit them while he was asleep.

- Are you awake, Kai? - Jay's voice was heard behind Kai.

Turning around, he could see Jay sitting and leaning against the bars of the cage.

- Jay ... - Kai got up and sat down too, he could see that Zane was still asleep - Shouldn't you be asleep? -

- I-I couldn't sleep ... - he said as he brought his knees to his chest while hugging them with his hands - I'm still worried ... -

- Worried? - Kai looked confused.

- For you - Jay said looking worriedly at Kai with those strong and bright blue eyes - I was scared when I thought they were going to use me as bait for the dragon, but I was even more scared when I saw how you offered yourself in my place and see how they threw you into the water. But I was more scared when I saw that they took you out and you were not breathing, I thought we had lost you! Of course I must have been concerned! - He increased his tone a bit as he kept looking at Kai.

Kai could perfectly see the concern reflected in Jay. Which made her heart clench hard.

- Sorry, Jay. I know it worries you both, but I don't regret what I did. Yes, I know it was reckless of me, but you know me, you or Zane still wouldn't have been badly affected by being in the water. Their powers affect the water, and that could have hurt them, however I do not have that problem, my element is fire and it does not work in water, that could have been a probability that it would not be affected by being in the water -

- I know ... - Jay sighs heavily as he embraces himself - Just please ... don't go back and do something like that again -

"Okay, next time, if we find ourselves in this kind of danger again, I'll be more careful and think things through," Kai assured Jay while showing him a sincere smile.

- Good - satisfied with that, Jay snuggled again - Kai? -

- Yes? -

- You said the dragon reminded you of Nya. Do you ... miss her? Nya? - Jay showed Kai the saddest and most worrying look of all centuries.

And it was a look he couldn't help himself.

- Yes - she finally admits - Every day, minute and second that we spend here I still miss her, I also miss Lloyd, Pixal, Skylor, Misako and all our friends and family that we have in Ninjago, I worry that Garmadon will hurt them in the way the one found -

- I'm sure everyone will be fine. Nya is a tough girl who won't give up easily, Lloyd is also someone strong, he's lucky to have such a girl on his side - Jay seemed to smile weakly as he imagined that his friends in Ninjago were fine.

- Yes, you're right - Kai smiles - I'm sure and they'll be fine. After all, I raised and trained those two - he smiles proudly as he looks up at Jay.

The Blue Nnja seemed to smile at his friend's comment.

- I just wish ... I could be there with them right now ... - At that, Jay's smile quickly faded from his face - Seriously ... I would like to go home now -

- Yes ... - Kai admits as he looks away - I also want to go home -