The villagers of the Jade and other tribes awoke early the next morning, a nervous energy crackling through the air. Overhead, the morning sun blazed through the trees, shining upon the warriors and leaders alike. Everywhere you looked, villagers were preparing for the coming battle, sharpening weapons, packing supplies, and armoring themselves for the coming conflict. Everyone was readying themselves for the fight, strengthening their defences, and practicing their moves. Kai watched from a bridge as Akita and Zane stood by their tribe and talked battle plans. Odd. Normally Akita refused to leave her brother unattended. He glanced over at the medical hut where he usually was- the doorway was closed, indicating he was still inside. Curiosity filled him as he slowly peaked through the window. Sure enough, Kataru was indeed in there. By himself...

'Well, the moment my tribe gets here he'll be burned alive in there. Maybe I should spare him the pain and just kill him now.' He thought. 'BUT... that would mean I made them all my enemies now rather than it being a surprise betrayal later...'

The conflicted leader sucked it up and made his way inside. Kataru was asleep and resting, like he should have been, but his calm demeanor turned incredibly uneasy when Kai entered the hut. It was like he could sense the threatening figure getting closer. Kai loomed over him and studied the formling. He was still covered in scars that would never heal, and several bandages, but he looked completely different now. His body was more filled out now; you probably wouldn't ever know he was at the brink of starving to death a week ago. He was still skinny, but in a much more healthy way. It was bizarre to see him like that. Being so taken cared for... Kai winced in pain as he clenched his heart and stumbled back. "Stupid hex..." He muttered. The dark crackling spot had began to reappear over his heart again, but he hadn't told anyone. Lloyd had to save him once, he was NOT letting him do that again! It was HUMILIATING. So his lips were sealed. For now...

Kataru stirred and slowly sat up. The moment he noticed Kai he froze. The air felt heavy like the temperature had been dropped dramatically. The look in Kataru's eyes was beyond terror- it was unlike anything Kai had ever seen. The gaze felt like ice, and the master of fire didn't understand why it was making feel the way it was. It felt like he too was frightened. He didn't think it was feeling bad- that emotion would probably feel like something else- no, this was definitely fear. But why would he be scared of him? He was the one who had the ability to end him where he sat. Kataru's eyes didn't cease to have that glimmer of terror, but his expression changed. It turned from blank staring to a feral snarl; like he activated a defense mode. "Stay the hell away from me!" He snapped.
Kai couldn't help but jolt back at the sudden change of emotion.

"I'm not so weak anymore... Come any closer and I'll turn into a bear so I can rip you in half!" Kataru's voice shook with both fear and rage as he spoke.

Kai took another step back and sighed. "I'm not going to kill you. I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment, but I don't actually feel like taking your life. Maybe because it would be a waste of time. Besides, when the Fire Tribe attacks this place tomorrow, one of the soldiers will probably do it for me. Until then, no one's harming you."

"I don't care what you say or what you think. I wouldn't care if you spared me out of thousands of people just because of sympathy. I. HATE you. And I will never forget what you did to me. I will never forgive you! NOW GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"

The master of fire froze. He was used to hearing harsh words, especially from Clouse, but THIS? I hate you? I'll never forgive you? That... felt different. He couldn't explain it, but he found himself on the opposite side of the village within minutes after that. He ran away? So what if he hated him? He could live with that! It's not like he cared... right? He was just gonna die in the attack anyway. No time for emotions- especially not on someone so weak.

Ronin soon met up with him and told Kai all about the attack plans he overhead, even admitting a few of them were really clever. Kai let out a sigh and cleared his throat. "Thank you, Ronin. Let those maggots do their job and take care of Clouse."

The soldier nodded. "Depending on how the fight goes, we might be the leaders of all Ninjago by the day after next."

"Um. Yeah... yeah, exactly."

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Meanwhile at the Firelands, Clouse and Chen stood at the temple entrance, peeking through the crack of the barely open door. Clouse had finally completed the spell he had been working on, and was about to use it. The two watched as all the Fire Tribe residents crowded in the temple front; waiting for a meeting Clouse had called to start. After they were sure everyone was there, Clouse walked out and put on his deceiving mask again. He promptly waved a flurry of fire in the air above him like he was reminding everyone he was in control now. The man welcomed everyone and started his act; pretending that Kai’s tragic end was still eating away at him.

"Even though those monsters took our beloved young leader away from us, we must remain strong and fight. In fact, we need to be more than just strong... We need to be UNSTOPPABLE. INDESTRUCTIBLE." The leader motioned for the doors and that was Chen's sign to slither out. Of course, he promptly did an epic pose when he did so. The crowd gasped in shock as the snake snickered with twisted joy at being the center of attention again.

"This is an Anacondrai," Clouse began.  "These ancient creatures are known as history's greatest soldiers. They have super sight, hearing, smell, and are 10 times stronger than an average person. Their scales are also impenetrable, water resistant, and fireproof." Swiftly, he demonstrated by blasting a flamethrower at Chen, who barely flinched. The crowd gawked at the scene in front of them; beginning to ask several hundred questions all at once.

"Well, luckily for you, my little subjects-" The snake began. "Thanks to my Clousey over here, this form can be obtained by you all! All you have to do is let him work his magic on you and you'll be walking through fire in no time!"

A silence fell over the crowd as Clouse stepped forward and raised his hands into the sky. Ancient words of incomprehensible language flowed from his lips, and dark clouds began to spiral around the area. It appeared as though the start of a hurricane was forming above them all as he spoke. Purple magic swirled around the Anacondrai and into the storm. Purple lightning began clipping through the clouds with massive claps of thunder. Just the lightning seemed to fade and the winds started to calm down, a bolt of purple light shot down from the eye of the storm and engulfed the entire volcanic area. Slowly, the blinding light began to disappear and the dust settled. Chen and Clouse opened their eyes to witness their plan was a success. Every member of the Fire Tribe looked around at the others and gawked at the sight. They were all Anacondrai... each and every single one of them. Even Clouse. He snickered as he gazed down at his army of indestructible warriors. Everything was going exactly as he planned.

"Now- what do you all say about being fashionably early to our party?" Clouse smirked.
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Garmadon, who was helping Brad and a few other villagers, suddenly froze. Something was terribly wrong; he sensed it. His eyes darted towards the direction of the Firelands and something inside immediately began begging him to prepare for battle. Clouse wasn't leading his army here tomorrow.. they were coming TODAY. He shouted for everyone to either get to the designated safe place behind the waterfall or to draw their weapons and get ready to fight. The leaders all scrambled to help the children and vulnerable to the safety spot. Lloyd watched on; fear growing with each passing minute. Suddenly, he felt himself fall to the floor of his house and pass out. The green ninja sat up and looked around at the dream he'd woken up in. Wu floating near him looking almost heartbroken. Lloyd questioned what was wrong.

"The battle they're about to face... They will not win." He whispered. "The tables have turned in a way nature never intended... I'm so sorry."

"What do you mean you're sorry? We got this! Everyone's been training for this for forever! I united the tribes, just like you said."

The apparition quietly hung it's head and the world around Lloyd shifted and transformed into a vortex of deep purple cloud; like he was in the center of a tornado. Images flashed around in it, like twisted visions of what was to come. Lloyd’s chest tightened as he watched scenes of destruction unfold. One depicted Kai somewhere dark and crying out as he got dragged down below the surface of what looked like raging water. Another showed Zane in his falcon form being shot down by an arrow while in flight.  Every vision seemed more horrible than the last as they imprinted themselves in Lloyd’s mind. The boy fell to his knees and shut his eyes tightly, though it appeared to do nothing; begging for Wu to make it stop. Then, one final thing was played in his mind. Garmadon and Clouse fought each other, and Clouse won. The green ninja jolted awake, sweat dripping down his face. His father... he was going to die. Everyone was.

They couldn't win this.

Lloyd bolted down to the ground and desperately searched for his father in the crowd. He needed to tell him what he saw, it felt too important not to. Just as Lloyd thought he caught a glimpse of him, a sound erupted from the other side of the jungle, followed by a stack of smoke rising from the treetops. They were here. The green ninja turned to see Morro standing alone, separated from the others, spear in hand.

"Morro! Where's your tribe?"

The master of wind sighed. "In the safe location. I refuse to put them in more danger than I already have. Besides, they still need to rest. I don't care what they say- they're not at full strength yet."

Harumi walked over next to them holding a bow. "Don't worry Lloyd. Kataru and everyone else that shouldn't be in this fight is safe. Besides, we got this."

Lloyd tried to swallow a lump that was beginning to form in his throat. "But... what if we...... don't?"

"Shut it." Morro glared. "Everyone's here. Uniting the tribes is working. Just like you promised it would. Now, get to your battle position! I hear them coming."

The sound of hissing echoed through the jungle, growing ever closer. Garmadon stood in the front lines with his staff clenched tightly. The smell of fire became more prominent, and smoke started to fill the air; seemingly coming from no specific source. Then, out of nowhere, a massive fireball launched from the jungle. Garmadon swiftly spun his staff to stop it from advancing further. Clouse chuckled as he approached the edge of the village. Garmadon growled. "Clouse... look what you've done to yourself. It's disrespect of the worst kind! You'd really stoop down so low as to change yourself to give you a slight advantage in battle?!"

The sorcerer sneered. "Oh, Garmadon... You know I wouldn't just do that. I did it to a lot more people than just myself..." With that cue, Chen and the rest of the Fire Tribe slithered forward. The Jade leader's face began to drain of color as he witnessed the Anacondrai warriors flooded behind the evil man. Kai and Ronin, who had been instructed to hide in a tree house until further notice, stared at the scene in borderline horror. "What did he do to my tribe?!" Kai whisper yelled.

Garmadon composed himself and gave the opposing army one last chance to return to the Firelands; saying if they choose not to take the offer, they'd pay with their lives. But of course, the statement did nothing to change the minds of the snakes. With a battle cry, Clouse blasted fire at Garmadon, and the army advanced. Every tribe ran into battle with a powerful determination, elemental masters leading the way. Morro and Nya, not having a specific tribe to lead, helped each other in the battle. Lloyd tried to run, but he was frozen in fear by the visions he saw. The way the two armies just clashed... It looked exactly like what he saw in the vortex. It was going to come true. All of it was going to come true. A fire soldier ran at Lloyd with a spear, thrusting it at his heart. The boy, at the last second, snapped out of his daze and blocked it with his force-field. He blasted the creature back with green energy, but it barely made it flinch. All around it was the same. The snakes would hit with a powerful attack. And when they were countered, it didn't do anything to them. They were virtually indestructible. Wu wasn't kidding- they LITERALLY CAN'T win this. His eyes filled with tears as he desperately tried to change the outcome by fighting back as many snakes as he could. Despite the odds, he continued to push them back. But that wasn't gonna be enough for long. The fire warriors were relentless in their pursuit, hissing and roaring with rage at their prey. Cole tried to stay away from the melee of swords and spears slicing through the air, focusing instead on the earth beneath. He summoned what focused energy he could muster and he felt the earth move as he sent it rumbling across the battlefield. Towering rocks and boulders rose up around him, protecting him from the blades and poisonous teeth of the Anacondrai. He lowered a section of the wall and earth punched one in the face. It cried out as they writhed in pain on the ground. Cole did a little victory cheer, but was cut off by another attacker. A snake lunged at him while he was still fighting off a separate one and cried out in pain as the soldier sunk its fangs into his shoulder. He blasted both of them back by making the earth jut up below them, and grabbed his arm. Blood mixed with purple venom trickled down his arm, which was already feeling numb and prickly. The master of earth tried desperately to ignore it and continue fighting, but it was becoming apparent that his arm would be rendered completely useless sooner rather than later. Despite his valiant efforts, Jay was slowly but surely being overwhelmed. The Fire Tribe seemed to be everywhere he turned, and he felt increasingly more frustrated with each time his most powerful attacks did nothing. His electric powers were beginning to weaken as he fought in vain. Several of his tribe found around him, but they too weren't doing much of anything against them.

This was really bad.