The jungle was teeming with life, the birds chirping, the bugs buzzing, the trees swaying in the breeze. But none of it was acknowledged by the two figures who sat, cold and sodden beside the river. Ronin had dragged Kai out of the frigid water and onto the muddy riverbank. Kai had almost lost his life at Clouse's hands, and Ronin didn't know how to feel about it. About anything that had happened... I mean- he ran away! HIM- fearless captain of the Royal Guard- RAN AWAY! And to save another's life no less. He was a gosh darn member of the Fire Tribe! Caring about someone else was unheard of there. It made you weak.... no exceptions.

Ronin tried shaking the young emperor's shoulders, jostling him gently as though it was an annoyance, not a life or death situation. He prided himself on his icy demeanor, but his heart ached at the sight of Kai, so still and quiet, not waking. His toughened exterior cracked, and he found himself calling out his name while trying to arouse him. He was trying so hard to remain stoic, to appear unfeeling, but his heart raged against him. For the first time, he felt as though the possible approaching death of another wasn't a fun game. There was something else clearly at play now, and he rather hated it. It was like his entire existence was a lie.
"Hey, kid." he growled. "You need to wake up, now. We don't have time to waste here if we want to get out alive. Come on. Up!"

The master of fire stirred, opening his eyes and looking around curiously. Suddenly, he was hit with the memories of Clouse's betrayal. "THAT, LYING, WORTHLESS BASTARD!" He boomed as he jolted up. "That was treason! He can't throw me out of my own kingdom!"

The soldier rolled his eyes as he stood up and looked around. Ronin cursed under his breath, hating the thought of what they had to do. But he knew they had no other choice. “Unfortunately, he's too strong and too stubborn- going back there right now would mean death." He growled as the next thought crossed his mind. "We may have to... collaborate with the enemy." he said reluctantly. "Lloyd and the Elemental Masters. We can't win without them."

Kai erupted like a volcano. He was outraged, despite the direness of their situation. He disliked the idea of working with the ones they considered 'lowlives'.
"You expect me to work with those maggots!? How could you suggest that?! They're the scum of the universe! You've seen what they did to us!!"

"You can't deny that they're powerful." Ronin countered. "It may be our only hope. We need to face the facts, your highness. We're in this alone. We need allies. And trust me, I don't like it any more than you do."

Kai just ran his hands through his hair, frustration making his eyes flash a fiery orange. He wanted nothing more than to punch him for the mear idea of the suggestion, but he was well aware that Ronin was right. The boy seethed with humiliation and rage as they stood there in silence. "Fine," he muttered. "We do this, only until Clouse is taken care of. Afterwards, we're free to murder them all- got it?"

The soldier bowed and nodded in agreement; motioning for the boy to walk ahead of him and lead the way. "My sword is ready when you are."

With a scowl, they headed off into the unfamiliar jungle.

Meanwhile in the Jade Tribe village, Brad stood on a balcony and watched the residents going about their lives. He rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath as his eyes locked onto Morro and Nya talking below. Just then, Harumi walked over and stood beside him; meeting his gaze.
"I still don't like this." He muttered. "I don't trust them."

Harumi turned to him looking almost offended. "What are you talking about? They just saved Lloyd and Garmadon's lives."

"Yeah, that's what they said.. But then they brought back another invader."

"What- Kataru?! Brad, you do realize they saved him, right? Lloyd said the Fire Tribe was making that poor boy fight for his life in an arena... He needed help. There's something wrong with you if you have something against that... or the other elemental masters for that matter."

Brad rolled his eyes. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with me! In fact, I'm probably the only sane person here! Has everyone just forgotten all that we were raised on? All the terrible stories about them? Those leaders can very well just be playing nice.. They could be secretly just as bad as the fire tribe. And as a guard, it's my responsibility to make sure you're all safe. So I'm not taking any chances."

Before Harumi could counter, he turned and looked deep into her eyes. "Just so you know, if anything gets out of hand... if they try anything... I won't be hesitating to kill them." With that, the boy turned and left; leaving a concerned Harumi behind. To be completely honest, he hadn't been the same ever since he woke up from that Fire Tribe attack. True, he had been injured- but not by any of these people; so is animosity towards them make no sense. All they'd done so far was good.... right?

Just outside the village, Cole and Jay were training; the humidity and heat making their task even more difficult. They both moved around each other swiftly, dodging punches and blocking kicks. As they fought, they kept talking as if it was a conversation.

"I still can't believe the Fire Tribe tried to murder Lloyd and Garmadon in a freaking arena!" Cole exclaimed.

" I know, right? I guess it's true- all the stories about them. Unlike the rest of the tribes where we just thought they were bad, these people are worse!" Jay replied. He dodged a kick from Cole then continued, "We've got to prepare for their incoming attack. We'll have to be ready for anything they throw at us!"

The master of earth jumped up into the air and flipped backwards to dodge a punch from Jay; landing on his feet, he said, "We better be if we want to protect our people! We'll have to be extra vigilant from now on."

"Oh, totally- Nothing will ever sneak up on me!" Just as he finished the sentence, a twig snapped behind him and he jumped in fright. Cole would have found that hilarious, if wasn't for  what made the noise. Kai- the leader of the Fire Tribe- and Ronin. Both ninja stood their ground with an angry look on their face. As the enemy came closer, Cole and Jay took on defensive stances. "What do you want?!" Scolded the lightning ninja.

"I'm gonna give you 5 seconds to get your butts out of here before I destroy them... now SCRAM." Cole demanded.

Kai coughed nervously and bracketed his hands behind his back. He began to take a breath as if to speak, but hesitated. Finally, he heaved a heavy sigh. "We.... We need.... need... your....." The boy almost looked like he was about to throw up as he stumbled over his words. "Help." he admitted in a voice devoid of emotion. "Clouse has betrayed me, and has now proclaimed himself emperor. We need you to assist with taking that lowlife down and getting back what was so rudely stolen from me."

Both Jay and Cole were reasonably suspicious. There was absolutely no way they could trust them, right? After all the terrible, horrible things that they had done?
“And why should we trust you?” asked Jay.

Kai gritted his teeth. He clearly hated admitting his desperation. "Clouse has taken control of my army and is planning to use it against us. And to make matters worse, he's going to summon the Anacondrai to come back to this world and destroy it. If we don't do something about it, we're all going to die a terrible death. Believe me, coming to you for help is the worst possible thing I can ever think of- but I'm afraid an alliance is in order if we want to survive what he's planning."

Just then, an arrow shot towards Kai’s heart. The boy grabbed it mid-air; only centimeters away from his chest. Without even looking at it, he burned it to dust. Brad jumped from a tree and aimed another at him. The master of fire scoffed, almost upset to see Brad still standing. Garmadon followed behind as the two new people stood by Cole and Jay.

"What did you say about the Anacondrai?" Garmadon interrogated. Ronin explained that Clouse had mentioned something about bringing forth an army of things called Anacondrai. He had mentioned that they were some kind of war driven monsters that respected only power and brutality. The Jade leader looked like he was just shot and still processing the reality of it. This was bad. Clouse had done horid things in his lifetime, but this... this was possibly the worst. Kai had it all wrong, he didn't want to rule Ninjago, he wanted to destroy it.
Against everyone's better judgment, Garmadon made it clear that they were going to have to work with Kai and Ronin. Lloyd joined in and was NOT happy about it. I mean- they just kidnapped them and were about to murder them! That hot head's sword came less than a millimeter away from Lloyd’s stomach! He wasn't going to stop there either- he was probably planning on cutting him in half. And what they would have done to Garmadon if that had succeeded, he had no clue. But there was one thing for sure- there was no way Lloyd was getting anywhere near either of them. "Why are you talking about working with them?! Father, you've seen what they're capable of! We can't trust them! If anything, we should just end them now before they cause any more trouble."

Brad aimed the bow and the Fire Tribe leader and pulled back the arrow. "Finally.. now you're talking sense. I'll do it with pleasure, just say the word."

Garmadon gave both of them a death glare and they lowered their weapons reluctantly. Jay and Cole shot Lloyd a look of worry and understanding towards what he was about to do. And to everyone's disdain, the great leader led the two villains into the village. Zane stood on the deck of the medical hut and watched in disbelief and anger as he saw who was being walked in below. Lloyd joined him, jumping from a tree branch down to the deck.
"What are they doing here?" The Ice Emperor growled.

"Allegedly, the leader's adviser betrayed him. Hes some sort of sorcerer and hes supposedly bringing back some ancient form of warrior. They're the same ones in the earliest legend. The ones that took my uncle... The Anacondrai."

Zane was familiar with the name Anacondrai, and if his memory served correctly, it wasn't good. Formlings live for a long time, so with that logic, so do their stories and legends. Although, only the name sounded familiar, he didn't remember the full story. Even if he did, who knows if it was historically accurate anymore? Legends are brought from stories that often get twisted as the years go on- like a game of telephone. So who knows? While he was there, Lloyd asked how Kataru was doing. Zane led him into the room where him and his sister were and smiled almost proudly. Akita sat by him as he slept peacefully on the floor. All the food he had rejected earlier was now gone from the tray, and he had a soft smile on his face as he slept. His stomach was clearly full, probably for the first time in years, and he seemed contented under the jacket Zane had given him to use as a blanket. His sister looked as if she couldn't take her eyes off of his face. They were wet with tears, but she smiled through them; just overwhelmed with emotion and joy that he was alive. And from the looks of it- recovering well. The green ninja smiled warmly at the sight, then turned to the outside where Garmadon was talking to Kai and Ronin, then back at the sleeping formling. "I'm not gonna let the Fire Tribe hurt him ever again. I'll make sure neither of them even come close to this building." He whispered to Zane.

The master of ice nodded in agreement; he'd vow the same. As the two left, Morro and Nya watched Kai from a tree branch in the distance. Both of them had intense emotions boiling underneath the surface as they watched the enemy work alongside their allies. They knew they should trust their leader's judgement, but deep down they were both apprehensive of Ronin and Kai's presence. "It's ridiculous to think they could ever be trusted." Morro muttered angrily.

Nya clenched her fists in agreement. "I can't believe Garmadon would lower himself to allowing those two to stay here, let alone work with them. I mean, look at them... already acting all nice like we should feel bad for them."

Morro scoffed as he watched Kai smile at Garmadon. "Of course they can act friendly, it's all an act. They're nothing but liars and manipulators! That's the only thing they're good at! I guarantee they're just gonna use us to get what they want- and then turn around and kill everyone."

"Exactly! I can't believe we're being forced into this." Nya growled. "I don't know about you, but I'm keeping my eye on them."

Morro agreed. Regardless of what Garmadon believes, those traders could never be trusted.