Lloyd~
I hate this. This wasn't Kai's fight. We let him die. We let him burn.
We climb out of the sewer, finding the power out and the streets covered with ash and molten metal. The Overlord's giant helmet lays in a pile of smoldering debris, and we all look around for Kai.
I look around the street, before hearing a small whimper coming from Cole. I walk over to him, and tearing up at what I see in his hand. Cole is holding a smoldering red face mask: Kai's mask.
Nya walks over, and when she sees it, she breaks down, crying hysterically into Cole's shoulder. I can tell that he's trying his best to not cry along with her.
"I used to think technology would be the answer to all of our problems..."
"But then, I saw technology invent new problems: devastating problems. And then, a ninja named Kai saved us all. He understood the balance between us, and technology, even if no one would listen to him. He taught us that life, should be a balance. Technology can improve our lives, but so can people, and that if we focus on one at the expense of the other, that's when the balance is off. Our city WILL find it's way again, but this time, with Kai as our compass. With that, I give to you.."
Cyrus takes the tarp off of the statue at Kai's memorial. We are all here, forlorn over the loss of our brother. People sit in the seats, crying over a lost hero, a lost friend.
"The Fire ninja." The tarp is thrown, and we see a faceless statue of Kai, made out of red tinted glass, looking up to the heavens. My eyes are watering as I look to the ninja I was most connected to... The one who understood me most. The one would Go through hell for me as I would do for him... The one that holds my Heart. My Soulmate.
"So... What happens after this?" Nya asks sadly.
"I... Don't know." Cole says, forlornly. Zane just shakes his head sadly.
"And I don't care. Today is about Kai." Jay says.
"And now, Lloyd would like to speak... for those who... knew him best." Cyrus says, moving to the side. I rise and climb the stairs onto the stage.
"Everyone wondered what drove Kai. He never told us, so I don't know if we'll ever know. I'd like to think it was love. Love for his fellow man, even when things weren't going his way. Because he drove ME." I see Jay looking down, blinking tears from his eyes. "And he'll STILL drive me, as his memory lives on. Ninja never quit, and ninja will never be forgotten." I look up to the now cloudy sky. "Wherever you are, Kai, you'll always be one of us." I finish.
Just then, I see a small ember falling from the sky. And another... Soon thousands of small embers are raining around the memorial. Not catching anything on fire, just showing us that Kai is with us; that he'll ALWAYS be with us. I walk off the stage, and rejoin my friends.
"Cole..." I say softly. Cole nods, and hands me the small glass box. I carry it up to the statue, and put it on the pedestal, and kneel. The other ninja follow my example, along with the rest of the crowd.
"He was a true hero..." I hear Jay's mom say.
"He had so much more to give." I hear Dareth say.
"He will be greatly missed by all." I hear my father say. I rise to my feet, leaving the box containing the piece of Kai we have left: his last battle... his mask. It holds his blood, sweat and tears... His devotion... his scars. We all hold scars, we all hold regret.
I start filing out with everyone else, Zane with his arm slung around my slumped shoulders.
"We will all get through this together, brothers." Zane says to us.
"Kai wouldn't want us to let him slow us down... We have to keep going... for him." Cole says sadly.
"Let's just... Go back to the bounty. I think we all need some time to think." Sensei says. I nod to him, before slipping from Zane's grasp and moving to my Mother and Father.
"What do I do?" I ask them.
"Keep moving." My mother says.
"Kai was our guiding light, and he will never go out, even if he has dimmed." My dad says sadly. "I will miss him greatly. He saved you... when I couldn't."
We reach the bounty, and all go off to dude rent rooms. I go straight to the deck and start pounding the punching bag until my knuckles are split and bleeding. I lean my forehead on the dummy, and finally let my tears out that I had been holding in all day.
"We won't forget you." I say quietly between sobs. "I won't. I promise."