The sun set below the horizon as Cole headed up the stairs. He had just finished dinner and was ready to go to sleep. I can't stay up any longer with all this, he thought. I just hope I can sleep soundly without any visions waking me up.
He sighed as he sank onto his bed and drew the blankets over him. Fighting down pain, he closed his eyes and almost immediately found himself out in the forest. He gave an exasperated sigh. Oh, come on, he thought. Just when I thought I could get a good night's rest.
He wandered through the trees, noticing how dark it was. It's usually bright and sunny when I'm dreaming, he remembered. So why is it so dreary?
He began to feel creeped out at the eerie silence when he suddenly heard a groan of pain in the distance. He froze. "Wh-who's there?" he called.
When no one replied, Cole warily slunk toward the sound. He rounded a large tree and found himself in a small clearing. Movement caught his eye, and he turned to find another person leaning against another tree, panting with pain.
Cole's eyes widened in shock as he recognized him. "Kai?"
Kai turned around at the sound of his name. "Cole," he greeted.
Cole was surprised to hear how weak the red ninja's voice sounded and he rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
Kai's eyes glittered with pain, but it was obvious he was trying not to show it. "As okay as I can be," he croaked.
"Kai, it's been a long time," Cole started again. "When are you going to wake up? When will we see you again?"
Kai looked at the ground. "That's a hard question to answer," he murmured.
Cole followed his gaze and realized for the first time that half of Kai's legs were gone. His head shot back up in alarm. "Kai, what's happening to you?" he prompted.
Kai gave a soft shrug. "I can't be in this dream world forever," he breathed. "Especially when I'm in pain."
Cole stared at him. "So you are going to wake up soon?" he asked hopefully.
Kai shook his head. "That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" Cole questioned, growing worried.
Kai sighed. "I'm fading, Cole," he said. "Every day the pain grows and I get weaker. There's no telling when or if it'll end."
Cole's breath quickened. "But, when you fade, you'll wake up again, right?"
Kai didn't respond.
"Kai?" Cole prompted.
Kai looked up at him again. "Cole, the only way for me to wake up again is if Lloyd gets a sudden burst of anger," he stated. "And I don't mean just frustration. I mean real, pained fury."
"B-but I thought the worst of Lloyd's anger is over," Cole stammered. "I-I thought we were trying to calm him down, not anger him again!"
Kai only stared back at him, eyes blazing intensely.
Cole's eyes widened as he understood. "No, Kai!" he protested. "That can't be right!"
"Saving Lloyd is more important than saving me." Kai's voice cracked.
Cole's heart pounded in his chest and panic welled up inside of him. "B-but you can't go!" he gasped. "We need you! I need you!"
Kai laid his hand on Cole's shoulder. "You don't need me, Cole," he murmured. "You can handle this. You're ready."
Cole shook his head wildly. "No!" he shouted. "There has to be another way!"
Kai gazed at him. "I love you, Cole, but this is the only way," he said.
"No..." Cole whispered. "Kai, please!"
A gust of wind blew at them, and Cole knew the dream was ending. He stared at his brother desperately. "Kai!"
Kai half-smiled. "Take care of the others for me."
Cole's eyes swelled with tears as he saw everything begin to fade from his vision. "No!" he screeched, throat tightening. "Kai!"
Cole awoke with a jolt. He sat up in his bed, panting. He realized his face was wet with tears. Wiping them from his eyes, he remembered what Kai had told him. No... he thought. Kai can't go.
It was just a dream, he told himself. Then he winced. Oh, heck no, it was a vision! He hurriedly threw off his blankets and raced out of his room, heading toward the hospital room. He can't be gone. He can't be.
Cole burst through the hospital room door, completely forgetting it was the middle of the night. He darted across the room and skidded to a halt beside Kai. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw the rise and fall of the red ninja's chest. He's still alive, he thought. But for how long?
Cole looked down at Kai and saw that already the red ninja's breathing was slowing. Breathing heavily, he felt his hopes crush as he helplessly watched his friend suffer.
"Cole?"
Cole turned his head to see Wu at the doorframe.
"What are you doing up so late?" the sensei asked.
Cole panted and looked back at Kai. "Kai's dying," he choked out.
Wu's eyes flashed with alarm. "What?" He rushed over to the two ninja and looked over Kai. "Kai's fine," he said after a moment's observation.
"No, he's not!" Cole protested. "We're never going to see him again!"
Wu rested his hand on Cole's shoulder. "I know you're scared, Cole," he murmured. "But Kai will wake up soon."
Cole shook his head as he stared down at Kai with widened eyes. "No, he won't!" he wailed. "He'll never wake up again!"
Wu watched in surprise as the black ninja whipped around and raced out of the room. Rubbing his beard, he turned back to Kai, who looked just as he did the day before. I don't know what Cole thinks he saw, but Kai seems no worse.
The sensei frowned as he looked over the unconscious ninja. But he's certainly no better, either.
* * *
"Look, Lloyd, hear me out," Kai pleaded.
Lloyd crossed his arms. "I don't wanna hear you out!" he snapped.
"What happened?" Kai wondered. "I thought we had a good time last time!"
Lloyd blew a piece of hair out of his face as Ariana's words rang in his head. "You broke your promise," he growled. "You said you'd protect me from harm, and look where I am now!"
Kai threw his hands up. "What do you think I'm doing?" he prompted. "I don't have to keep visiting you, but I want to bring you back!"
Lloyd turned his head away. "Well, maybe you shouldn't!" he snarled. "I never asked to visit you anyway!"
Kai flinched. Lloyd felt a prickle of guilt go down his spine as he spotted the hurt in the red ninja's eyes, but he pushed it away. That's nothing compared to what I've been through.
"Lloyd, please, we want you back," Kai continued. "We miss you."
"As if," Lloyd scoffed. "I'm not gonna fall for that trick again."
"Trick?" Kai echoed. "What trick?"
Lloyd's eyes blazed. "Your trick," he spat. "Saying you care for me and—and love me, and then throwing me away!"
Kai stared at him with surprise. "Is that what you think?" he exclaimed.
Lloyd felt doubt creep up on him at Kai's tone. "Well... yeah," he murmured.
"Lloyd, we never threw you away!" Kai protested. "You ran away!"
"Only because I didn't want to be sent away!" Lloyd retorted. "I left before you could throw me out!"
"We'd never throw you out!" Kai said. "How could we do that to you?"
Lloyd looked at his feet. "I'm nothing but a monster," he growled. "You have every reason to throw me out!"
"You're not a monster, Lloyd," Kai told him. "You're my brother."
Lloyd didn't look at him. "Says the person who went out of his way just to avoid me," he muttered.
Kai's gaze softened. "Look, Lloyd, I never meant to hurt you," he said. "Avoiding you out of fear was a huge mistake, and I'm sorry."
Lloyd looked up again in surprise. "You're... you're sorry?" he whispered.
"Of course I am," Kai murmured. "We all are."
"I'll believe that when I see it," Lloyd mumbled.
Kai stepped closer to him. "We all still care about you, Lloyd," he went on. "We never stopped caring, and we never will. No matter what you've done or what you will do."
Lloyd looked away again and didn't respond.
"We're all worried about you," Kai added. "And we want you to come home."
"What if I don't want to come home?" Lloyd questioned, suddenly frustrated. "Doesn't anyone ever think about what I want?"
Kai stared at him. "I thought you just wanted to know we love you and want you back."
Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he growled. "But how would you know?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like you're not so sure yourself," he pointed out.
Frustration flared inside of Lloyd. "And what if I'm not?" he snapped. "You're going to criticize me?" He turned his head away. "Just leave me alone."
"I didn't mean it like that," Kai sighed, beginning to feel frustrated himself. "I'm just trying to bring you back where you belong."
"And where do I belong?" Lloyd demanded. "Because at this point, I'm not so sure."
"At the monastery, with me, Sensei, and the others," Kai said. "You're the green ninja, Lloyd."
"What's the point of living with people who don't care about me?" Lloyd shot at him.
Kai gritted his teeth. "After all we've done for you, you think the Baddies care about you more than us?" he questioned.
"I'm not sure about them," Lloyd snarled, "but I sure do."
Kai gasped and his eyes widened. Lloyd stared at him furiously as he fumbled for a reply. Then the red ninja closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "That's it," he stated.
His eyes were blazing when he opened them again. "Do you think that you can just run away without us wondering what happened to you?" he hissed. "Do you think that you're actions don't affect us at all?" He didn't wait for a reply before going on. "Do you have any idea how much pain we've been in since you left? And I'm not talking about physical pain! We've been shocked, confused, grief-stricken, frightened, stressed, and above all, disappointed in the boy we've grown to know and love!"
Lloyd's breath quickened as he stared at the enraged red ninja. "That makes two of us," he muttered.
"You don't understand!" Kai snarled. "Don't you realize what you've done to us?" He panted. "Especially Garmadon! He's more distressed than he's ever been!"
"My father?" Lloyd exclaimed. "He's glad I'm gone!"
"Are you kidding?" Kai shouted. "He's never longed for anything more than to see his son again!"
Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, right," he retorted. "I think otherwise."
A low growl rumbled in Kai's throat. "How about I just show you?"
"What?" Lloyd blurted out. He stared at the red ninja as he shut his eyes and the world began to spin. "What are you doing?"
Lloyd staggered on his feet as he was whirled around. Kai stood completely still in the winds and his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. Then everything came to an abrupt halt.
Lloyd looked around at the dim room. Kai walked up beside him. "Recognize anything?" he murmured.
Lloyd blinked to adjust to the lighting. "The monastery's hospital room?"
Kai nodded his head toward the other side of the room and Lloyd reluctantly followed him. "But how did we get here?" Lloyd whispered, aware of the eerie silence in the room.
"We're not really here," Kai explained. "It's all but a vision."
The two halted a little ways from a bed where Lloyd saw his father sitting up on. Garmadon was staring out the window, back facing toward them. Kai gestured toward him with his hand. Lloyd stared at the red ninja for a minute, then took a deep breath. He walked up to his father until he got a clear view of his face.
Garmadon's eyes were expressionless and unblinking. His hair was unkempt and his eyelids drooped. His shoulders sagged and his face was numb.
Lloyd tilted his head slowly, pondering this. What's happened to him? He looked up as Wu walked over to them. Lloyd jerked backward in alarm, but the sensei didn't even notice his appearance. Lloyd saw Wu's mouth open and close as if talking, but the green ninja heard nothing but muffles. When Wu paused, Lloyd glanced at his father expectantly, but Garmadon made no reply. Wu laid his hand on his brother's shoulder and talked to him some more, but Garmadon didn't even look at his brother. When Garmadon still didn't respond, Wu sighed and walked away.
Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows. What has gotten into him? he thought. Dad always has a lot to say.
Troubled, Lloyd turned and headed back over to Kai. But the red ninja wasn't looking at him. Lloyd followed Kai's gaze across the room and found it locked on another hospital bed. Lloyd blinked in surprise to see Kai's living body lying on it.
Cole sat beside his body, face buried in his hands. Kai's eyes glittered emotionally as he stared at the two, then he lowered his head. Lloyd looked from Kai to Cole, wondering what all the commotion was about.
Then Kai's body shifted, and Lloyd jolted in alarm as Kai let out a sudden groan of pain. He clutched his stomach as Lloyd glanced at Cole again.
The black ninja looked up at the sudden movement, and Lloyd's eyes widened in shock to see Cole's face red with tears. Cole never cries, he thought. Never.
Kai took a deep breath and turned to Lloyd again. "Come on." His voice cracked. "We should be getting back."
"But—"
"If you want to ask questions, you should ask them yourself," Kai cut him off.
Lloyd winced as the world began to spin. "At least tell me why you're in the hospital room!"
But when everything stopped whirling, Lloyd found that Kai was gone—leaving him wondering what in the world happened while he was away from home.