The five tribe leaders made their way through the lush, green jungle. Morro,who was once marching ahead like the leader, was now hanging back. Zane gave the boy a worried glance as they walked; asking if he was alright.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My body's just not used to walking such long distances."

Nya happily jumped from rock to rock, to fallen tree with a giggle. She was thoroughly enjoying her time out of the ocean and on dry land. Every minute was a new experience for her, and her eyes lit up with wonder every new thing she found. Even if said thing was just a flower or bird. It was new to her and that's all that mattered. Jay groaned in annoyance while turning to face Cole. "Do you even know where you're going? Is the Firelands supposed to take over a day to get to? Isn't Lloyd’s life in severe danger? I thought this mission was time sensitive! We shouldn't be taking a Sunday stroll!"

The leaders had to make camp the night before, and this was their second day of walking.
Cole rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, yes. The Firelands are still pretty far ahead."

The master of water giggled as she hung upside-down from a tree branch with her legs. "Yeah, you saw how far Morro had to throw those fire soldiers in order to get them both even close to there."

Suddenly, he got an idea, turning to see Morro brushing his fingers through the air, a mischievous smile gracing his lips.

"That's it!" Cried the blue ninja. "He can do that thing again- but to us!"

The master of wind froze. "What?! Are you flipping insane?! Tell me this- do you know for certain if they even lived that throw? What if that move unintentionally killed both of them? You want me to do it to you without knowing for certain if it's even safe?"

"I'm just saying, being blown through the jungle on the wind would be much faster than painfully walking like we are right now... Every moment wasted could be Lloyd's last... And all this walking and not flying is wasting a lot of moments..."

Cole and Zane exchanged worried glances before agreeing to at least try a severally toned down version of the attack. And if they were gonna test it, they test on Jay, since it was his dumb idea. Nya almost seemed mystified by the idea of launching Jay through the air; sitting eagerly awaiting for Morro to get into position. The young master of wind stood behind Jay with arms extended like he was taught to aim by Garmadon the day prior. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly; wind beginning to spiral around him like the breath from his exhale turned into a tornado. When his eyes shot open, a tornado circled around Jay and he went flying forward. In a blur, he was gone. Zane quickly turned into his falcon form and darted towards the direction of the blue ninja's path. Using his enhanced vision, he scanned the ground below and finally saw him laying face first on the ground. The ice leader dove down and frantically began to check if the other was injured. But to his shock and confusion, Jay was on the ground laughing.

"Man, you have to try that! It's awesome! You know, until you lose control and smack face first into a tree." Jay chuckled.

Zane let out a relieved yet slightly irritated sigh as the others met up with them. The master of lightning cracked a smile. "Well, now that we know it's safe- who's ready to to speed this rescue mission up a tad?"

______

Meanwhile in the Fire Tribe dungeons, Lloyd was curled up into the corner of the room. His stomach growled like it was furious as he clenched the grip on his legs harder. Kataru, who sat on the opposite side of the cell, stared at the floor; eyes completely empty. More often than not, he was silent and unresponsive. It was almost like his soul was fading in and out of his body. After a few more stomach growls, Lloyd called out for the formling. No response. He called them again, and this time, a slight spark of life entered his eyes. However, he stayed in the same exhausted position; only letting out a raspy "hm?"

"So... When's the schedule? Ya know, preferably the next time we get something to eat?"

The formling's empty, sunken eyes glanced at the ninja. "Next month. Next time you impress them. It doesn't matter... they'll probably throw us in the ring again in a few days anyway."

Lloyd retracted into himself even further as his eyes locked onto the largest blood stain on the floor. "Then you'll kill me....... right?"

Kataru couldn't bring himself to look at his fellow prisoner any longer. He let out a deep sigh that honestly sounded painful. "Yeah...."

Only moments later, a fire soldier walked over to the cell and unlocked it. Lloyd felt his heart sink and body go cold as they grabbed both the prisoners. He was being put up against Kataru. Already. And by the fact that the boy was refusing to open his eyes to even look at Lloyd, he knew what was about to happen. The two were thrown in the arena as the crowd cheered. Kataru shakily got to his feet and gave Lloyd a sympathetic look as they stood before each other. The boy lunged at him with his claws, but the ninja dodged. The two fought back and forth until finally Lloyd was pinned to the ground; tears pricking his eyes. The formling sighed as his heavy breathing calmed and he looked Lloyd in the eyes. "It’s alright." He whispered. "It’s going to hurt really bad for a second, but I promise it'll be better when you wake up." The ninja’s eyes were like trembling emeralds locking on to the others fading brown ones. Kataru raised his claws; readying to do the job, but he was clearly hesitating. "Please don't look at me like that... It's for the best... It's gonna be really quick, you'll be bleed out before you know it hurts, okay? It's okay..."

Lloyd closed his eyes as tears began to flow like the waterfall back in the jungle. Back home... HOME. Lloyd felt a sense of comforting while he thought about it. If he was going to die, he was going to die peacefully. Just as he thought he felt the formling's claws graze his throat, a burst of heat whooshed passed instead. His eyes opened just in time to see Kataru scream out in agony as a fireball launched him across the arena. "Kataru!" Cried Lloyd. The formling laid there against the wall he crashed into; a large burn on his side and back. His hollow eyes were wide with pain and shock as his breathing became more labored and slow. Just as Lloyd got up to run to him, a figure jumped in between them. The figure had two golden swords and Lloyd immediately recognized him as the leader of the Fire Tribe.
The emperor smiled a twisted smile as he slowly walked towards the green ninja. "Well, well, well... We meet again, Lloyd Garmadon..."

Yes, this new opponent terrified him, but he was more scared for Kataru, who was currently dying in the corner of the ring. Lloyd growled at the foe before catching a glimpse of a guard drag Kataru away. He tried lunging at the soldier, but the master of fire blocked him. "You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever properly introduced myself. The name's Kai. Emperor of the Fire Tribe- master of fire." He smirked. "Aw, but talking isn't really the reason why we're here, is it?" He slashed at Lloyd with his swords, but the green ninja back flipped and dodged it. His wounds on his side burning with a newfound fury as he landed. The pain caused him to stumble backwards, and Kai went in for another attack, Lloyd blocked with his energy shield, and the fire leader laughed. He looked genuinely entertained. Granted, a psychotic type of entertainment. This whole tribe was beyond messed up. "Your little shield is so cute! It's like you genuinely think you can protect yourself. Sorry if you're only hearing this now, but these people didn’t come here today for a friendly dual... they came here for an execution." Kai’s swords just missed Lloyd as he ducked and rolled out of the way. The fire leader growl as he mercilessly attacked again. Sparks flew as his swords clashed against Lloyd's energy shield. Hit after hit, Kai relentlessly tried to break through the barrier,  but it held its own against his sword strikes. Seeing that he wasn’t making any progress, Kai stepped back and summoned a swirling ball of fire around his left hand. With a single gesture, the fire shot towards Lloyd, trying to incinerate him on impact. However, Lloyd was surprisingly quick despite his injuries, and blasted a ball of green energy in return that intercepted Kais fire ball and broke it apart. Lloyd retaliated fiercely, but the searing wounds on his side were taking their toll. He was restricted in terms of movement, which allowed Kai to get the upper hand. With every blow, he could see and feel his strength waning.

"You know you can't win this, little Garmadon... just give up already!" Mocked Kai. "This whole crowd came here to watch me destroy you! Watch me prove once and for all that we- the Fire Tribe- are the most powerful of all you worthless maggots! Now surrender, and let this whole crowd witness you bleed. Witness the son of the mighty Garmadon parish before the hands of the leader of this tribe. The least you can do is die in this moments glory."
Kai moved closer, brandishing his swords with unwavering confidence; his smirk twisted and manic. Lloyd snarled at the attacker while clenching his side; it beginning to burn with each heavy breath. Kai moved faster than Lloyd's blurring vision could process, and with a flaming roundhouse- kick to the slashes in his side, Lloyd was dealt a critical blow, sending him flying across the arena with a pained cry. The evil leader walked towards the green ninja, the flames around him crackling and rolling. He clashed his swords together in a menacing gesture, ready to deliver the finishing blow. But just as he was about to bring the swords down, Lloyd mustered up the last of his remaining energy and fired a blast of green energy. The blast hit Kai square in the chest, causing a massive explosion that shook the arena. The boy slammed into the ground, the golden swords falling from his grasp, as the crowd watches in stunned silence. The green ninja collapsed onto the dusty ground, sweat drenching him and his breathing forced and heavy. Kai, on the opposite side, was also laying on the floor; exhausted. Clouse snarled at the sight and with a thunderous stomp he levitated Garmadon, who was being forced to watch next to him, up in the air. "Either you fight young Garmadon, or you watch your father be torn in half!"

Lloyd, though exhausted, looked up horrified at the sight of his father being suspended 50 feet off the ground by purple tendrils. In pure desperation, he struggled to stand back up, but would collapse every time. On the other hand, Kai had already gotten up and was walking toward Lloyd; fists ablaze. Garmadon called out in terror as the master of fire grabbed the sword and held it above his son's weakened body. Kai let out a war cry as the sword came crashing down. Garmadon felt his heart shatter and body freeze as the tears began to pour down his face. The cry he made was that of the most heartbroken, painful soul. His son... his one and only baby...... was dead.
Garmadon was hit with a powerful flashback of the week after the Fire Tribe took away his wife. He sat in his tree house with his infant in his lap. The boy yawned and cuddled up as close as he could to his father. The Jade Tribe leader stroked his tiny head with his thumb as he let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry little one... I wish I could have done something more to protect your mother. She would know how to raise you far better than I can."
Just as that was said, the baby began to cry. Garmadon jumped in surprise at the sudden change in emotion. The man held the boy close, putting his ear to his own heart. "Oh, please do not cry. See? You hear that? My heartbeat. If you can hear it, that means I'm here. As long as I live, I promise I'll be here for you." The boy stopped his cries and smiled as his loving father nuzzled him gently. "I love you my dear Lloyd."

But now.... that promise was broken.