Chapter Text
Kai Smith has had many panic attacks; he just couldn’t afford to have one right now. Not when Krux had the Dragon Blade leveled at his heart, the look in his eyes daring Kai to make him use it.
That tightness in his chest? He’s just tired.
The overwhelming sense of doom? Just another Tuesday.
The claustrophobia that seemed to be crushing him from all sides? Only because of the dozens of Vermillion Warriors that had followed the Time Twin’s into his parents' prison, surrounding them, crowding closer and closer and closer.
Kai and his family stood in the main room of the forge that doubled as his parent’s prison. It was a wide-open space with a fireplace glowing in the back corner next to a small worktable area, pencils and blueprints thrown haphazardly across the crowded surface. It was near this table that the Smiths were cornered.
“Put your hands out in front of you,” Acronix said coolly, his tone bridging no room for argument.
The Smiths took a collective beat, each weighing their chances, before sticking out their wrists, knowing that there was nothing they could do. Besides, Kai and Nya privately reasoned that they could just break out using their elemental powers when the opportunity arose. Then Acronix produced the handcuffs: vengestone handcuffs. Nya began to shift backwards but only succeeded in bumping into the table behind her before the cuffs were secured tightly around her wrists.
Immediately to her right, Kai faced a similar situation. The second the cuffs were snapped into place, Kai and Nya’s faces morphed into identical expressions of discomfort, their powers dampened and some core part of them dimmed, but both of them knew that this was only a fraction of the pain vengestone could incur. As long as they didn’t use their powers, they’d be fine. No reason to panic.
One of the Vermillion Warriors, Commander Machia as Acronix had called her, lead Kai and his family outside. A loose semi-circle of snakes stood at attention in front of them, the outer wall of the forge at their backs. Kai leaned against the exposed brick trying to get his breathing under control while Commander Machia leered at him. The vengestone handcuffs made him feel cagey and weak. He had found his parents after over a decade of hoping, yet the minute their family was reunited they were captured again. He couldn’t lose them again, he couldn’t. Not after he’d just found them.
“Kai,” Nya whispered beside him, concern evident in her features, “are you ok? You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine,” he responded shortly, his breaths becoming shallower the longer they stood waiting outside the forge. “What are we even waiting for?” A slight edge of hysteria colored his words.
“Kai,” Maya said, pressing their shoulders together, “listen to me. We’re gonna be ok, you have to calm down. You have to breathe, sweetheart.”
“I- I can’t. We just found you, I can’t lose you again, please, Mom, Dad, I can’t do it again. I can’t,” Kai grasped one of his mother’s hands with one of his own, their manacles clicking gently against one another as Kai glanced between his mother and father.
“You won’t,” Ray promised, “Son, I promise I-”
“Well, isn’t this touching,” Krux laughed. “I hate to break up this tearful reunion, but it’s time to go.” His eyes flickered over the four of them before coming back to rest on Kai. As Krux strode forward, Acronix leaned over to Commander Machia and whispered something in her ear that made her smile. Krux made a beeline for Kai, grabbing his arm as soon as he was close enough. Kai immediately tensed and tried to pull away, but Krux’s grip on his arm was too strong. “I said move.”
Krux shoved Kai forward and began walking, pushing past him to fall in step with his brother. Captured and with nowhere to run, Kai was forced to walk ahead of Nya, an unconscious Master Wu, and his parents towards the Time Twins’ airship. More soldiers, including the Commander, fell in around him but thankfully no one else made a move to grab him. Some of the panic overtaking his system ebbed away as he focused on walking, one foot in front of the other. Then, without warning and for no apparent reason, Commander Machia shoved his shoulder, hard, sending him careening into the rocky soil. Kai twisted onto his back as he fell forward, sweeping her legs out from under her and scrambling backwards, glaring at her in shock and anger the entire time.
Commander Machia hissed, eyes flaring. Her gaze darted to Acronix hopefully. He nodded, and Machia immediately motioned to the guards to restrain Kai. Machia’s captains hauled him to his feet and gripped his arms tightly. Kai braced for a blow as Machia stalked towards him, but before she could so much as lift a finger, the oily voice of Dr. Saunders, no Krux, rang out.
“Dear Commander Machia, why bother using your fists when there’s a much more…effective tool at our disposal.”
Commander Machia cocked her head, his slit-pupiled eyes narrowing in disgust at Kai as she considered Krux’s words. “What do you mean, my lord?”
“Are you familiar with the properties of vengestone?” He asked slyly, his gaze shifting between Kai and Machia slowly.
“It dampens elemental powers.” She said, her confusion at the question evident. “Everyone knows that.”
“Ahh, yes, but do you know how?” Krux was now holding Kai’s gaze, which widened slightly as he realized what Krux intended to make him do.
“No, my lord.”
“You see,” Krux began, sounding so much like the doctor that had guided Kai’s research just a few weeks ago. “Vengestone counteracts elemental powers by generating what you might call the opposite elemental reaction. So while the Master of Energy might feel himself drained or the Master of Ice might feel like he was burning, the Master of Fire…” he trailed off expectantly.
“Would freeze,” Commander Machia finished, as a deadly smile alighted her features.
“And not only would he freeze, Commander,” Krux continued, “but my research has shown that Fire and Ice have the most visceral reactions of all the elements. I have not quite been able to determine why, but I hypothesize that it’s due to the exact, concrete opposites they have. For example, while Earth has its opposite in Air, this difference is more metaphorical than the oppositional forces at play between Fire and Ice. But why hypothesize when the perfect test subject is right here, and simply begging for attention.”
Kai began struggling in earnest, desperately trying to get away from Krux and Commander Machia, but the guards holding him didn’t budge an inch. When they reached him, Machia made a hand gesture, and the guards forced his arms to stretch out away from his body. She made a second gesture, and they kicked at the back of knees, sending him careening into a kneeling position. Commander Machia fisted her hand in Kai’s hair, nails scratching his scalp painfully, and forced him to look at her, his neck straining at the awkward angle.
“Well then, Master of Fire, let’s see how hot your flame really burns. We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Commander Machia said sweetly. “And I do hope you give me a reason to use the hard way.” Kai kept his mouth shut, glaring defiantly up at her. Machia’s sickly sweet smile turned lethal as she let go of his hair then used the newly freed hand to backhand Kai’s cheek. His head snapped to the right and a thin line of blood trickled from his lip.
“Kai!” Nya yelled, straining against her own guards to get to her brother, but they held firm. Undeterred, Nya kept fighting against them, desperately struggling to free herself before Kai got seriously injured.
The Master of Fire simply sneered up at Machia in an uncharacteristic show of restraint, refusing to rise to the bait and risk harm befalling his sister or parents.
Machia glared, her hand straying to the dagger clipped to her side when Acronix interrupted from his position next to Ray and Maya.
“You know, Commander, I find that the quickest way to get what you want from someone isn’t by harming them. It’s by harming those they love.” Ray, Maya, and Nya straightened at this, struggling against their captors and the desperately unfair nature of their circumstances, but there was nothing they could do.
“Kai don’t listen to them,” Maya shouted, “we’ll be fine, don’t -” but a sharp nod from Acronix had a guard covering her mouth with his hand, muffling her cries of protest. Maya bit down on his hand, causing him to withdraw in pain, but he quickly drew his dagger, and held the blade to her neck.
Machia’s eyes flashed with anticipation, but as she began to turn towards Kai’s family, he quickly yelled out, “No, stop! Don’t touch them, leave them alone!”
Krux smiled at his brother before turning back towards his Commander. “You have received wise counsel, Commander Machia. Proceed.”
“You were saying?” Commander Machia pressed Kai innocently.
“Just leave them alone and I’ll give you what you want.” Kai spat, desperately trying to keep from spiraling as the knowledge of what he was about to do threatened to overwhelm him. Kai had only felt the full effects of vengestone once before, when he and Skylor were trapped in a net of the stuff on Chen’s Island. It was one of the most painful memories he could recall, the cold penetrating his very core, leaving him weak and shaking for hours afterwards.
“Very well. And I wouldn’t keep me waiting, Vermillion Warriors may be genetically superior to our serpentine brethren, but we are not known for our patience,” Commander Machia hissed menacingly.
“And, Kai,” Krux added pleasantly. “I have been studying the elemental powers – particularly fire and water,” he added with a nasty grin, “quite intensively these past few years so I will know if you try to produce anything less than a, shall we say, robust flame.” The unmistakable edge to his voice made it clear that he was not lying.
Gritting his teeth, Kai held his hands out in front of him, stared at Commander Machia with a mixture of fear and resolve, and summoned a powerful burst of flame.
The effect was immediate and absolute. It felt like his blood froze in veins, like the sun had disappeared, like his inner fire had been forcefully extinguished. Kai was unable to suppress the cry that spilled from his lips as his entire body seemed to freeze as punishment for daring to produce heat. Dimly, he heard his father and sister yell his name, but he couldn’t think past this all-consuming pain.
Unable to hold himself up, Kai slumped against his captors who immediately let him go, sending him crashing to the ground. He curled up into a fetal position on the ground, desperate to conserve any heat he could. Tears welled in his eyes and traced tracks down his cheeks. He grit his teeth together to prevent them from chattering.
Why was he so damn weak? Why did he have to react so strongly to vengestone when none of his friends had this much trouble? Why was he never good enough? Never strong enough?
The only answer was endless, unforgiving cold.
Kai didn’t know how long they let him lay there on the ground. It felt like hours, but it was probably only a minute or two. The Time Twins had too much to do to bask in his suffering for more than a few minutes. Voices floated around him, but it sounded like they were coming from underwater. A pair of black boots stepped into his line of vision from where he lay curled on the ground. Moments later, Krux crouched down and, grabbing a fistful of Kai’s hair, forced him to look up at his captor.
“Most enlightening,” he whispered for Kai’s ears only. “Now, while I would love to continue this vein of research, I have places to be. Get up.” Krux released his grip on Kai’s hair.
Kai struggled to his knees, but the process was slow going, his legs shaking too much to support his own weight. Growing bored of watching him struggle, Krux grabbed his arm and yanked him up, the sudden jostling ripping a cry of pain from Kai. His pride made him keep his chin up, but he avoided eye contact with his family. He didn’t want to face them right now. Instead, he leveled a glare at Machia, although the smudges of dirt on his face as well as the tremors wracking his body probably diminished the effect. Without a word, Kai began shuffling forward, determined to leave this moment behind him. Much to his surprise, Krux didn’t pass him off to a lower guard. No, he kept a firm, almost painful, grasp on Kai’s arm and began marching him towards the ship, just barely visible in the distance.
“So, Kai, care to tell me how you’re feeling right now? Has the cold settled in your bones or is it tearing through your veins and arteries? Do you feel as weak as you look, or is this just your natural state?” Krux goaded Kai, squeezing his arm. Kai kept his mouth shut, refusing to even glance at Krux. “Oh, come on, not even for the sake of research? Well, I suppose I can always see if your baby sister would be more cooperative…” he trailed off suggestively, slowing his pace by a fraction.
“S-stop. I’ll tell you what you want to know,” Kai said through gritted teeth, speeding up and pulling Krux along with him. “Just leave my family alone, we didn’t do anything to you.”
Krux laughed, low and bitter. “Didn’t do anything? You took everything from me. You think you feel bad now, your powers negated but imagine if they simply ceased to exist. Imagine that this core part of you, the part that made you special, different, was ripped away, trapped in blades able to be used by any idiot who got their hands on them. So, I’ll ask again, and know that you won’t get a third chance: just how weak, how pitiful, do you feel right now, knowing that a little piece of metal brought you to your knees?”
“I- I-,” Kai took a deep breath. For Nya, he thought. “The cold feels alive. Like every move I make is chipping away at some integral part of me.” His chest constricted, forced to bear his vulnerabilities to a man whom he hated, and who hated him, for nothing more than a sick desire for revenge for something that had happened years before he was born.
“Now see,” Krux smiled patronizingly, “that wasn’t so hard. And while I would love to continue this conversation, we have other matters to attend to,” Krux shoved him towards another guard, Kai yelping at the sudden manhandling, before turning towards Commander Machia. “To the cargo hold, if you please, Commander.” Machia bowed before leading them to the belly of the gleaming metal ship.
While certainly smaller than the Bounty, the Time Twin’s ship was still decently sized with shiny silver plating encasing the hull. The wide-open deck had a giant turbine engine secured to the back, and a small trapdoor that presumably led to the cargo hold. Machia, Krux, and Acronix forced the Smith’s down the rickety old ladder – Kai biting his cheek to prevent from crying out during the painful, yet blessedly quick, descent – leaving Wu on the deck with the two other guards.
Kai reached the bottom, stumbled over to the wall, and leaned his weight against it, panting slightly from the slight exertion. While the absolute worst of the cold had faded, it lingered in every part of his body, a pressing weight that he couldn’t escape from no matter how deeply he tried to breathe. He knew the only thing to do was ride it out; there was no telling what Krux and Acronix had in mind for them, so he had to push through the pain. Nya needed him, his family needed him, and he couldn’t let them down, not again.
“Now,” Acronix said, his voice a pleasant tone, “where is the location of the last time blade?”
Maya squared her shoulders and glared at brothers who stole her away from her family. “We will never help you,” she said defiantly, eyes blazing with determination. Ray, right beside her, nodded in conviction. Nya, standing on Acronix’s other side, sneered at him and spat on the floor next to his boot, lip curling with disgust.
Acronix’s features twisted into a cold smile as jerked his head at Commander Machia who immediately turned and slapped Nya across the face with such force that she sank to her knees. Kai pushed himself off the wall trying to get to her only for Krux to slam the heel of his hand into his solar plexus, forcing all the air from his lungs in one whoosh. The panic attack that had been threatening to overtake him ever since they were caught at the forge took over in full force leaving him on his hands and knees, struggling to draw in a breath.
“I believe I went over this lesson earlier with your son, but it appears you suffer the same gap in education. Now, shall I demonstrate again just how helpful it is to have loved ones present during interrogations or do you want to try that again?” Acronix asked pleasantly while lifting his boot and placing it on the small of Kai’s back, pushing down so that Kai was forced onto his stomach. Kai choked, the weight of Acronix’s boot pressing down on his ribs coupled with his ongoing panic attack making it almost impossible to breathe.
“Leave him alone,” Ray shouted, “I swear to the First Spinjitzu Master if you harm him, I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” Krux taunted, cutting Ray off. “Leave him to fend for himself another decade? If the next words out of your mouth aren’t a location, your boy will get much worse than a bruise. After all, there’s so much more to learn about how vengestone affects elemental powers.”
“The Boiling Sea!” Ray cried desperately, struggling against the Machia’s hold to get to his children. “It’s in the Library of Honomizu in the Boiling Sea! Now let go of me or I swear I will rip this ship apart with my bare hands.”
Krux and Acronix exchanged smug grins before Acronix lifted his foot off of Kai and left the room, beckoning for the Commander to follow them. The Smiths had no hope of escaping the hold. Even if they did, where would they go?
As soon as they were free of the guard’s grip, Ray and Maya rushed to their children. Nya was already sitting up, fire in her eyes and a smear of blood on her chin. She waved off her dad and rushed to Kai’s side where Maya was trying to get him to breathe. Kai had turned onto his side and curled into a loose fetal position, hands scrabbling at the neckline of his gi in a vain attempt to open up his airway. Ray helped Kai sit up then started rubbing soothing circles on his back. Kai’s eyes darted up in a panic, settling on his dad’s concerned features.
“Dad,” Kai gasped, fingers gouging into the floor. “Dad, I can’t- I can’t breathe. Help me. Please- I- I can’t.” Rocking slightly, Kai ripped off the hood and shirt of his gi, leaving only a thin black tank top.
“Kai,” Nya said, calmly but with a kind of quiet strength, “follow my breath.” Nya gently placed one of Kai’s hands over her heart and took slow, exaggerated breaths. “In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.” She repeated this mantra over and over while Ray and Maya looked on in silence, admiring how Nya stepped up to care for her brother, and wishing that they were the ones who knew how to soothe their terrified child. After almost ten minutes, Kai’s breathing had evened out and he slumped against his sister’s side, shivering and exhausted.
“Fuck,” he muttered to himself, eyes rimmed with red. “Fuck.”
“Kai,” Ray ventured slowly, “are you ok?”
“I’m so cold,” Kai whispered, his breath hitching. “I just want to go home.”
“I know, firefly, I know,” Maya whispered, moving to sit next to her son. “Everything’s going to be ok. Just rest now. We won’t arrive at the Boiling Sea for another few hours, and you’re going to need your strength.”
Ray moved to Nya’s other side, wrapping an arm around his youngest child. “Your mother’s right, Kai. Sleep. You too, Nya. We won’t let anything happen to you.” And though both Smith children knew that this was a promise their parents would never be able to keep, they fell asleep, comforted by the fact that for the first time in over thirteen years, their family was, at least for now, together again.