#post possession

You.

He had watched you die. Not just fall, not just bleed—he had watched as an unseen force, an accursed Titan, curled its will around you, snapped your neck like a brittle reed, and wore your skin like a mockery of the person you once were.

Your laughter, your sharp wit, your calculating gaze that could pick apart schemes and bargains with ease—it had all been twisted into something unrecognizable. And then, just like that, you were gone.

He had fought, raged, carved a path through the battlefield with vengeance burning in his veins, but he had not been able to save you.

But now—now you stood before him.

Alive.

Changed.

Your eyes, once filled with clever mischief, now carried a depth he could not yet understand. The brand of Destruction lingered on your shoulder, a cruel reminder of the past stolen from you. Your presence was steady, but there was a hesitation that had never been there before, a moment of silence where once there had been a confident quip.

“Mydei,” you spoke at last, voice familiar yet foreign. “I’m back.”

He did not know what to say. What did one say to a ghost who returned to them?

And then, with all the restraint he could muster, he exhaled and murmured, “You never should have been taken.”

You offered a small smile, though it did not quite reach your eyes. “Yet here I am.”

His hands trembled at his sides. He was not one for grand gestures, nor did he have the eloquence of Phainon. But he knew this—if fate had returned you to him, then he would fight it tooth and nail to keep you by his side this time.

“I will not lose you again,” he vowed, voice rough with determination.

This time, your smile softened. “Then you better keep up, Prince.”

Aedes Elysiae was a city of gold and light, but in that moment, it felt unbearably cold.

Phainon had known loss, had seen the weight of fate crumble even the strongest of warriors. But nothing could have prepared him for losing you. Nothing could have steeled him for the moment he had watched you fall—watched your body betray you under the control of a Titan’s will, watched as your smile turned cruel, your voice laced with venom that was not your own.

And then, when the fight was over, you were simply… gone.

He had stood in the wreckage of battle, his hands shaking, his perfect composure fracturing. No elegant words, no graceful poise—just grief, raw and all-consuming.

And now?

Now you were here. Alive. Changed.

The stars must have aligned, or perhaps the Astral Express had rewritten fate itself, but you stood before him once more. Your posture was poised, calculated, but he could see the weight in your stance—the brand of Destruction that marred your shoulder, the hesitation in your gaze that had never existed before.

“Phainon,” you spoke his name like an uncertain melody.

He breathed in sharply, taking in the sight of you, as if you might vanish again should he blink. “You were taken from me,” he said softly, hands curling into fists at his sides. “And now you stand before me.”

“I don’t know if I am the same person you lost,” you admitted, voice quiet but steady. “But I will not let them decide who I become.”

A beat of silence passed, then another. Phainon stepped forward, carefully, as if crossing a fragile bridge. He reached out, his fingertips brushing against yours—a silent promise, an unspoken vow.

“You are you,” he murmured. “And that is enough.”

For now, for always.

And as you stood together beneath the golden sky, the weight of the past between you, he knew one thing for certain—he would follow you into any battle, any storm, any uncertain future, if only to keep you by his side.

Kai couldn't sleep.

No matter how much he tried to even out his breathing, to let his eyes flutter shut, to sing soft songs in his head or count sheep or think about anything except everything that had gone down in the last few weeks, he found himself opening his eyes, shifting his position in the bed only to fail yet again.

Just a couple of years prior, their shared room was filled with various sounds of sleep; Zane's snoring, Cole's occasional shift, Jay's muffled laughter from a video on his phone and Lloyd's soft mumbling had all been a reassurance that he didn't even know he had until it was taken from him.

First with Zane, losing him and then him no longer needing to power himself off at night due to a longer lasting power source.

Now Cole, not feeling the need to sleep, or for any human function now that he practically floated across The Bounty rather than walking.

Not to mention Lloyd, who had just been rescued but was still confined to the ship's medical bay on the air of caution; Kai knew it was for the best, he had been the one to convince Lloyd to stay another night even.

But laying awake in his bed, Jay already asleep without even turning his phone on, he couldn't stop himself from regretting it even if it was only due to his selfish reasoning.

All he knew was that staying here, waiting for sleep to wrap him up like a blanket after weeks of being consistently on edge, was accomplishing nothing.

Despite that, a part of him considered just staying there, keeping his eyes shut till morning and getting up when the small alarm clock in the wall finally started beeping.

But the rest of him knew that laying like this would only just make him stir crazy, his mind spiraling with thoughts of vengeful spirits and large tentacled realms and almost losing Lloyd-

Kai got up, keeping his feet light as he moved toward the door, doing everything in his power to keep Jay asleep before slowly opening the door and stepping into the dimly lit hallway.

The Bounty, despite having two occupants who no longer slept, was silent except for the occasional creak from adjusting slightly in the wind, only adding to the fact that Kai should be feeling safe and secure and able to fall asleep.

And in a way, it did; after all, he wasn't in any danger, nothing was giving him the inclination that The Bounty was under attack, and they had stopped the world from collapsing into itself.

But having grown up the way he did, in the back room of a blacksmith's shop and doing everything possible that a child could do to protect his younger sister, it wasn't himself that he was worried about.

He didn't have the luxury to worry about himself, not when Nya had needed him back then and not when there was the possibility that Lloyd needed him now.

Kai quietly pushed open the door open to the small medical bay, practically a closet stuffed full of their limited medical supplies, letting a little bit of the anxious energy that had been building inside him since they defeated The Preeminent a few days prior ebb away from his body.

Because Lloyd was still out, and despite the dark circles still lingering under his eyes, he looked peaceful for the first time in…well, the first time in a long time.

Kai pulled the metal folding chair off of it's hook on the wall, opened it slowly to minimize its creaking, and slowly lowered himself into it so his head was resting against the wall where he could still see Lloyd.

The steady rise and fall of his chest, his right hand grasped loosely around the green throw blanket that usually sat on the end of his bed, and the soft sound of his breathing filling the small room.

It proved to Kai the two things he couldn't be sure of on the other side of The Bounty; that Lloyd was alive, and that Lloyd was going to be okay even if it took a while for him to get to that point.

He was already better than the week prior, when the two of them sat at the table, wrapped in towels as their hair dripped cold droplets onto their skin; he was even doing better than he had been just a few days ago, when he had gone with them to try and destroy the realm crystal despite the fact his clothes had gone baggy against his skin and his cheeks looks way too hollow.

And that progress was enough for Kai to finally let his guard down for a brief moment, and let his head lean back against the wall so his eyes could flutter shut with the same thought echoing in his head.

'Lloyd's going to be okay.'

…

When Kai first heard the noise, a squeaking, pitiful whimper intermingling within the stillness of The Bounty, he thought he was still dreaming.

After all, his dreams were still a jumbled mess of Stiix and the Endless Sea and the descent down from Cloud Kingdom, full of screams and cries of terror from various parties so it would make sense to hear a whimper interspersed with the rest of the violence.

At least, that was until his eyes adjusted to the dark and it happened again that Kai realized that it was a very real noise, and that it was coming from a still sleeping Lloyd.

He jumped into action before the last of the sleep was out of his eyes, but he knew this feeling, the feeling of having to wake someone up due to their own mind fighting against them, and he knew what was necessary.

"Lloyd," he called out with a whisper, laying a hand on his shoulder before gently shaking him while continuing to speak, "Lloyd, you're okay, you're safe. You need to wake up, Lloyd."

However, the last thing he expected was tight fists with green fingertips to suddenly grip his wrists tightly and painfully, forcing a yelp from his chest as he found himself quickly shifting his feet and trying to pull away.

"Lloyd, it's me! It's Kai!"

But Lloyd was strong even in his sleep, Lloyd had been training with Cole since he was 10 years old, Lloyd was dreaming about something and it was hurting the both of them.

"Lloyd! Wake up!"

To go from harsh grips on your wrists and green sparks dancing in your face to the room suddenly going silent as eyes the same shade of green flicked around the room, the only sound filling it being rapid breathing, that was a shock to say the least.

But Kai pushed away his own feelings, like he always did, he would decompress later; he chose to focus on Lloyd, who had the realization of what had happened while he was asleep filtering in and was curling into himself like he was trying to vanish.

"Lloyd, I'm okay," Kai assured him, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt so he could see that his wrists were bruise-free, "okay? You didn't hurt me, promise."

Lloyd just nodded, still looking down at his knees.

"Are you okay?" He prodded gently, sitting down on the side of the bed, letting Lloyd bury his face against his shoulder only for the realization to hit him hard in the chest.

That realization being that "are you okay?" was the worst question he could ask Lloyd after everything that had happened since they had left Chen's island.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd," he apologized, the laundry list of everything he hadn't handled in the wake of losing Garmadon, of nearly losing Lloyd, cycling through his head while he pulled the teenager in tighter like the force would pull the hurt away, "I'm so sorry."

And Lloyd, well, he didn't say anything; he leaned closer into Kai, letting his head stay firmly planted against him but didn't make a noise except the occasional deep inhale necessary for the silent crying coming from him.

In that moment, Kai found himself looking up at the ceiling of The Bounty, found himself wishing that he could take on the hurt and sorrow cycling through Lloyd with every second he was awake.

For the first time in a long time, the thought of "I wish I was the Green Ninja" cycled through his head, but it was no longer filled with a selfish intent to be the best and needed revenge against the man who took his sister.

Now, it was a desperate hope to take the pain away from Lloyd's shoulder and place them on his own, the shoulders that had carried his own and Nya's pain for years.

After the fight against the Preeminent, the paddle boat slowly making its way to mainland Ninjago felt incredibly anticlimactic despite the feeling of dread still lingering within Zane’s gears.

He was confident that it had to simply be the comedown from adrenaline within him; after all, they had succeeded in their fight thanks to Nya and with the exception of the near destruction of Stiix, everyone had made it out okay.

But the dread still lingered in the back of his mind, almost like a voice trying to warn him that something bad was going to happen no matter what he tried to accomplish in order to stop it.

“PIXAL, can you scan the boat for any signs of distress?” He finally resigned, hoping that when she finished, she would simply say that he needed to shut down for a while and the residuals of adrenaline would slowly drain from his hardware.

He waited until she nodded before shutting her eyes in order to conduct the scan before resting a hand on his chest and forcing himself to pull in a few slow, deep breaths to try and force the crushing feeling away on his own.

Against all of the odds stacked against them, they had dragged themselves to victory once again and for Zane, that usually meant that for a few brief hours, he could just relish in the forever wavering calm that enveloped Ninjago in the wake of every victory.

And yet, as he waited, the sea breeze blowing against his face, he couldn't allow himself to relax which could really only mean two things: either Jay had been more careless than he assumed with the repairs that he had to undergo before they arrived at Stiix or something was wrong.

Really wrong.

“I am not detecting any distress signals, Zane,” PIXAL finally spoke, her green eyes opening with the completion, “perhaps you should get some rest.“

But Zane shook his head; something had to be wrong, he knew that much, he just had to figure out what.

“I will get some rest when we are back on The Bounty. “

And with that, he started to slowly tread the deck of the river boat, analyzing every person he walked by with extensive precision as he tried to make sense of the nauseating feeling that continued to build with every moment of the unknown.

As he walked, he did his best to keep his focus on seeking out his teammates; there was a chance that the overwhelming feeling of dread could be a result of the fact that all of them had gone through the traumatic events of the last few weeks and that the original purpose for his existence was breaking through to the surface now that the dust was starting to settle.

He observed silently, watching as Cole, Jay and Nya were deep in conversation near the steering wheel.

What they were talking about, Zane couldn’t tell, but they weren’t fighting which was only a minor relief since the three of them weren’t even bickering playfully.

But they all seemed relatively unharmed, so Zane continued to walk with slow, even strides.

Sensei and Misako were passing out blankets and teacups to the inhabitants of Stiix, the hush of the air filling around them; it reminded him of the aftermath of the Devourer, passing out blankets and fixing street signs while the entirety of Ninjago City was at a loss with the amount of lives lost and buildings destroyed.

And maybe, just maybe, this was the cause of the uneasy feeling that coated his circuits in an air of uncertainty; that his family was okay and this was where he was truly needed; so he walked over to Sensei and gently took some of the rough blankets from his arms.

“Thank you, Zane.” 

He could hear the uptick of surprise in the cadence of his voice, but all he could do was nod before heading into the sea of people to try and bring them a small amount of comfort.

…

The chaos Zane was waiting for only started when they reached the docks on the outskirts of the city, but it wasn’t his observation that helped him pick up on it; if it hadn’t been for PIXAL speaking up, there was a good chance he wouldn’t have known until he finished directing the people of Stiix to the nearest shelters.

“Zane, I found the source of the distress you were asking me to look for.”

“What is it, PIXAL?” He jumped into action immediately, going to grab a shuriken from the strap that held them to his back only to freeze in place when she spoke again.

“It’s coming from Lloyd.”

Zane let his hand fall and for a brief moment, internally chastised himself for not putting the pieces together. ‘Of course. Everything that happened in the last couple of days, everything that happened today and the fact that I never saw him or Kai…it makes sense that he hid away as soon as he had the chance to disappear.’

“Where is he?”

“Right now, Nya is taking him to The Bounty and trying not to draw attention to the two of them.”

“Does she need any help?” 

“I will ask, but in order not to draw attention, I recommend staying here and helping the others until we hear otherwise.”

And as much as Zane wished to follow onto the safety of The Bounty and do everything in his power to help, he agreed; after all, it wouldn’t be good for anyone if the media got pictures of Lloyd in his current condition and right now, he was needed here.

His duty, as of right now, was to help the people; to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

As much as the unknown bothered him, Lloyd’s condition would have to wait.

…

By the time it reached midday, the last of the people dissipated into various shelters to try and get some sleep, leaving Zane face to face with the other three ninja in their own varying states of disarray.

Jay was clearly exhausted, unashamed as he laid his head against the back of Cole’s ghostly shoulder despite standing straight up. Cole’s face was marked by the same tight frown that had been a staple since that night inside of the haunted temple and in the center of it was Kai.

The dark circles had been under his eyes since the night that all of this had started, but now they were accompanied by a tense worry that Zane didn’t even need to try and seek out in order to find it.

The worst part was that all of them knew what the cause of the worry was and there was nothing any of them could do to fix it and maybe it was the reason that all four of them sans Jay just gave each other silent, understanding looks until Jay jolted awake off of Cole’s shoulder.

“Rise and shine, Zap Trap.” Cole chuckled, the tight frown disappearing for a brief second as Jay furiously tried and failed to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

“All in favor of sleeping till tomorrow?” He questioned with his hand in the air, “I don’t know about you three,” he stopped to start walking toward the anchored Bounty with his arms above his head as he yawned, “but I am wiped.”

“Don’t you pull all-nighters all the time?” Cole questioned as he started to follow behind him, leaving Kai and Zane on the dock.

“Yeah, in my own bed and watching YouTube, not fighting the physical embodiment of the cursed realm. It’s two different things, Cole!”

Zane waited until the playful bickering faded before resting his hand on Kai’s shoulder, forcing him to look away from his glove-covered hands.

“You can go get some sleep too,” Zane finally spoke, but Kai shook his head in defiance as he pulled away from Zane’s hand on his shoulder and sat on the bench that overlooked the water, his head in his hands.

“I can’t sleep, I haven’t been able to sleep in weeks.”

“It’s over,” Zane insisted as he sat next to Kai, gently resting his hand on his back, “Lloyd’s alive, the preeminent and Morro are gone and while I assume that we will have to help rebuild Stiix, we won.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty?”

That did make Zane pause in his tracks; he knew that, at least a little bit, all four of them had felt some form of guilt since Lloyd had gotten possessed but none of them had gotten to the point where they couldn't sleep because of it.

At least, that hadn’t been made known to him until now.

“It wasn’t your fault that this happened, Kai.”

“Wasn’t it? I told him that I’d look after him, that I’d be there for him and…and then this happened.”

“Last time I checked, you did not have the means to prevent a entity from possessing anyone,” he could hear Kai let out a mix of what sounded like a snort of laughter and a sob, so he pressed on, “and when he did get possessed, you did everything you could to get him back and get him safety. You did keep your word, Kai.”

The salt air of the dock was the only thing that made any noise for a few quiet beats until Kai’s face emerged from his hands and he stood, the tear stains and red rimmed eyes being the only sign that he had been in any sign of distress.

“I’m gonna go check on Nya and Lloyd.” He announced before walking toward The Bounty, leaving Zane sitting on the bench by himself.

Part of him wanted to stop Kai, to press further and help him understand that it wasn’t on him, and no one blamed him just like no one blamed him when Zane had been the one to stop the Overlord.

But the other part of him knew that if there was one thing that Kai was to his core, it was stubborn; too stubborn to believe anyone but his own thoughts, too stubborn to die and too stubborn to listen to reason. 

Zane knew that he would have to wait for him to be ready to listen and be at the ready to listen when he finally couldn’t handle it any more; until then, he finally brought himself to stand and board The Bounty so they could get all of them, especially Lloyd, away from any prying eyes.

He owed all of them that, if nothing else.

…

Lloyd was stable, at least for now.

After the last few weeks, hearing Misako say that filled The Bounty with an air of relief midst the air lingering with dread and guilt.

There were still various things that could go downhill due to Morro purposely keeping Lloyd frail and weak in order to easily control him, but for now, all they could do was anchor The Bounty near Ninjago City General and try to get some sleep.

And yet, Zane found himself in the kitchen as soon as he was confident that Kai and Jay were fully asleep; it wasn’t like he needed to sleep and while he usually would settle into a sleeping type state at night, he just had this sense of needing to be awake.

All he knew for sure was that the kitchen, despite the changes he had undergone in the last year alone, still brought him a tremendous amount of peace in the way it allowed him to have control over something.

Ever since he had rebuilt himself, the agonizing dread of the sixth sense he had been aware of for years crept into his mind, no longer being a simple tool of premonition but now sent alarm bells ringing in his head with every minor uptick of fear or worry; while Sensei insisted that it had been a blessing, Zane could only view it as a heavy burden that he carried on his shoulders in silence.

It had been years since he was last made fun of for being “weird”, at least in a way that was blatantly obvious, but he also knew that some things, like having PIXAL’s hard drive in his processor and the sixth sense that had returned with a violent vengeance, were better off staying hidden until he was able to live with it as a part of everyday life.

He flinched when he heard a crash of a few pots hit the wood flooring, instantly allowing the ice to flow through his veins and gather at his fingertips while his eyes adjusted in the darkness to the figure standing next to the cabinet.

“Just me.”

“Lloyd,” Zane swallowed, trying to shake away the numbing cold that he had gathered in a matter of seconds and only taking in a small amount of comfort as he remembered that strong powers meant a strong Lloyd, “how are you feeling?”

“Thirsty.” He muttered as he stood on the tips of his toes to open the cabinet with the glasses.

Zane closed the gap between them, reaching up to grasp the glass before pressing it into Lloyd’s shaking palm.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.” Zane nodded, watching intently as Lloyd turned on the tap and filled the glass with cold water.

“Zane? Would you like me to run a scan?” PIXAL offered and Zane couldn’t help but relax at the offer, thankful that he didn’t have to verbalize his concern to her because no matter what, she knew what he needed in order to feel a semblance of normalcy.

“Yes, PIXAL. That would be appreciated.” 

“Starting scan.”

“Is that…are you used to,” Lloyd paused to make a gesture to Zane’s head, “that, yet?”

“PIXAL and I are working on it together.”

“Good, that’s good,” Lloyd agreed as he sat down and slowly sipped at his water, “and everyone’s okay? I didn’t…I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Kind of? It’s really fuzzy, but when I was able to break through and talk to Kai, that’s pretty clear.”

“Oh,” Zane let out a sigh of relief, hoping that he didn’t remember all of the destruction caused by hands that he couldn’t control, “My voice box was broken for a little while, but that was the extent that I can recall-”

“Cole’s a ghost.”

‘Right.’ 

“I really scared everybody.”

‘Also correct.’

“And I chased Jay with a sword.”

“This, all of this, blame can be placed in a lot of places,” Zane insisted as he stopped to rest his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder and tried his hardest not to think about how much smaller and younger that the prophesied savior of Ninjago was, “none of that blame is on you. You did all that you could.”

“Doing what?”

“Surviving.”

He heard Lloyd suck in a breath, one that almost sounded like a hiss of pain, before turning his attention to the water in the glass.

“I guess I did.”

“Scan complete,” PIXAL’s voice chimed in, “aside from the previous diagnoses of dehydration and exhaustion, Lloyd is still stable. However, I would like to remind you that both Misako and Sensei Wu were insistent on Lloyd sleeping as much as possible as well as the fact that your processor may be blocking signals of distress due to the electrocution it underwent.”

“Thank you, PIXAL,” Zane spoke before turning to Lloyd, “are you hungry?”

“I can’t ask you to make me food, it’s late.”

“I don’t mind, it is not like I require sleep,” Zane insisted, seeing a soft sign of a smirk from Lloyd’s face and sighing as he knew exactly what would be requested, “you want pancakes, don’t you?”

“They can just be the box mix, since it is really late.”

“I’ll be right back,” Zane insisted as he walked toward the dry storage before whispering just loud enough that PIXAL could hear, “did you find any injuries that Sensei would have kept to himself and Misako?”

“The only injuries that came up on the scan was some heavy bruising. I could not determine the severity, however. All I can offer as a solution is an ice pack for the most extensive bruising.”

“I understand,” Zane said as he reached forward to grab the pancake mix before returning to the kitchen, setting the box on the counter before turning to Lloyd who was seemingly fighting sleep as he ran his finger over the ring of condensation that had built up on the counter, “what do you want in these pancakes?”

“Oh, just normal is fine.”

Zane nodded and started to measure out the mix; he may have lost memories after he sacrificed himself, but he knew that Lloyd always preferred blueberry pancakes to the point of waking him up to make them when he was a younger child.

But that did nothing to ease the anxiety weighing heavily within him.

He couldn’t stop himself from worrying, even if the sixth sense telling him that something had to be wrong had to be a flawed system.

Zane was a nindroid, created to only accept solid fact; he had missed out on a year with Lloyd and in that time, he just had to force himself to accept that the two of them, just like the others, had all done a lot of growing up.

The room stayed silent, almost still but comfortingly normal, as he measured out and cooked the five pancakes that the small amount of mix he had portioned out made, setting them along with the butter and syrup bottle in front of Lloyd.

"Thanks." Lloyd said, his voice just above a whisper as he took the fork he was offered and put a syrup-coated bite in his mouth.

The rest of the pancakes followed in quick succession and before Zane knew it, he was taking the sticky plate and fork over to the sink, resorting to deal with them in the morning as he gently placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

The flash of pain across his features wasn't lost on him, but PIXAL had mentioned the heavy bruising and getting him some ice, but he chose to avoid acknowledging it based on the look of sleep deep within Lloyd's green eyes.

There would be plenty of time to tend to the extensive bruising tomorrow.

"You really should try and get some rest," Zane insisted, but found himself adding after his small nod, "I'm very glad you're back. The others are too, but…we were a bit lost, without you."

"I'm…I'm glad I'm back too," Lloyd hesitated for a moment, his words lingering with a heavy weight that Zane's processor couldn't decipher, but whatever it was faded with the joke that followed, "despite what Jay says, being kidnapped is not my favorite pastime."

"No, of course not." Zane agreed before removing his hand from Lloyd's shoulder, allowing him to stand up before turning back to the sink and reconsidering washing the dishes.

"Zane?"

"Yes, Lloyd?" Zane asked as he turned around, watching as he looked down at his sock-covered feet, the same way he used to after finally trusting the other occupants of The Bounty.

"Never mind, it's nothing-"

"Lloyd."

"Just…" Lloyd trailed off, lingering in the doorway until he finally asked the question that was seemingly plaguing his mind, "I kinda need a hug, first."

Zane didn't hesitate to take a few steps forward and gently pull Lloyd into his arms, holding him just enough so that he knew that he was actually giving him a hug without pressing deeply into any of the bruises under his pajamas.

Lloyd reciprocated by pressing his forehead into Zane's collarbones and wrapping his arms tightly around his middle, letting out a long, shaky breath as the tension in his back, tension that he had completely overlooked, eased in front of him.

He lost track of how long they stood there, holding each other and just taking in the fact that they were both there and alive and somewhat okay, but he didn't dare let go until Lloyd's arms dropped, his face still against him.

"Lloyd?" He asked, fearing that his arms going slack meant that he was about to fall unconscious.

But Lloyd just looked up at him, the dark circles under his eyes more prevalent then they had been all day, before speaking in a clear but quiet voice.

"Sorry, my shoulders are kinda sore. Do we have an ice pack?"

Zane just sighed in relief before heading toward the freezer to retrieve one.

Kai held on tighter when Lloyd flinched in his hold, nearly hitting his head on the curve of Kai's chin; he was pretty sure that there was some form of an apology interspersed with the series of hacking, wet coughs that escaped Lloyd's lips, but between the gasps and the exhaustion, it ended up being unintelligible.

"Don't worry about it," Kai insisted even when Lloyd sagged against him and went scarily still that had him turning to Zane, "is he-"

"He's still conscious," he let out a breath, watching as Zane quickly removed the blood pressure cuff which had caused Lloyd to flinch in the first place, "his vitals are mostly stable, except for…"

He didn't even have to say it, Lloyd's breathing had sounded awful from the moment Cole had pulled the two of them out of the river.

"So, what do we do?"

"Lloyd is the only one who can destroy the realm crystal, which means he has to come with us to Stiix."

'Right. End of the world, Morro, even more terrible things happening to people who don't deserve it.' Kai gently pulled Lloyd out of his slouch as he started coughing again.

"Are you sure all four of us can't just blow it up?"

"Affirmative. Our powers are still too weak from…" Zane's glance shifted towards Lloyd's face for a few brief moments before he returned eye contact with Kai, "from what happened, but it shouldn't take that much of Lloyd's abilities to destroy it."

Kai ran a hand through Lloyd's still damp hair before returning it back to the place around his arm where he had been holding him upright to encourage coughing up the water he had inhaled.

"Zane, he can barely sit up."

"We don't have another choice," Zane's grave tone only made Kai's decision making skills stall to more of a standstill, "if he does not destroy the realm crystal, Ninjago as we know it will be cursed."

Lloyd whimpered in response, which had Kai sitting straight up, but he let out a string of coughs before slouching against Kai once more.

"I know, I know," Kai finally sighed when he felt safe enough to return his gaze back to Zane, "but maybe we should make a backup plan if he's still this bad when we get to Stiix."

'If it were up to me, it wouldn't even be considered.'

"You do make a good point," Zane agreed while clipping a small monitor around one of Lloyd's fingers, "I'm going to update the others and see if we can make a backup plan, but I do not feel comfortable leaving him unattended-"

"I've got him, just don't let everyone decide to make me swim," Kai insisted as he pulled Lloyd upright again, "I've done enough swimming to last a lifetime."

"Very well, but Kai?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe use the towel to dry him off some more."

"Got it," Kai nodded, grabbing it as soon as the door shut behind him and started to towel off Lloyd's hair slowly in order to avoid another harsh flinch, "you still with me, Lloyd?"

He got a few harsh coughs in response that made his own chest twinge in sympathy.

…

Lloyd had managed to stay upright, defeat the preeminent and give a very motivating speech on the deck of the small paddle boat to the point where Kai wondered just how Lloyd had gotten this much energy when he had barely been able to speak that morning.

But when they returned to The Bounty and Lloyd keeled over in a way that renewed the unrelenting panic in Kai's heart, he realized that it was clearly a mix of adrenaline and spite, the same kind that had carried him through his own numerous battles.

He didn't have any new injuries outside of some bruising and minor cuts, 'thank the master', which pinpointed the cause of him falling unconscious as exhaustion, according to Zane.

"He needs sleep, a lot of it," Zane finally determined while Kai stood against the wall, fully prepared to move over to Lloyd's side as soon as he was allowed, "Kai, you'll need to reinforce it."

"After you shower," Kai whipped his head around to see Nya walking in, her under eyes looking only a few shades lighter than Lloyd's, "you smell horrible. I'll take first watch."

"Are you su-"

"Positive, we all took a vote on it," Nya's smirk lit up her face enough for Kai to know that it was mostly a joke, "go shower."

"I'll be back after I'm done," Kai relented, stopping to pull Nya into a tight hug as he found himself overwhelmed with pride that overtook the panic for a few, brief moments, "I'm so, so proud of you."

"Thanks," she returned the hug until he let go, "now go get clean, before I start gagging."

Kai couldn't help but let out a laugh as he found it in himself to go, knowing that Lloyd was perfectly safe with Nya and Zane.

…

"I have never seen…" Kai was going to add "someone who was that hurt two days ago escape Zane's watch for the third time in twenty four hours", but then he was reminded of after they defeated the Overlord the first time and without discussing it with each other, all tried to pull through it without getting medical attention and kept it to himself.

But at least he had given up on going that route after that, unlike a certain green ninja.

"Look, there's no way he would have gone outside in this," Nya gestured to the raging thunderstorm outside the window, "but we need to find him before he does."

"Lloyd!" Kai called out as he and Nya went in separate directions to divide and conquer, "Lloyd, hide and seek at eleven p.m in the middle of a thunderstorm is a really bad ide-" he was cut off by the generator turning off and The Bounty being encased in darkness.

"Great, just great," he muttered, lighting his hand ablaze before continuing to make his way through the ship, "Lloyd!"

He found himself making his way towards the very bottom of the ship; while it was now a glorified storage unit, there was a small, condensed training course down there, the same one Lloyd always took his anger out on when he didn't want to be seen.

He really hoped he wasn't foolish enough to train with fresh injuries, but he also knew that if he was, it was in order to avoid what was really bothering him.

Kai didn't hear any noise coming from behind the closed door, even when he knocked, but he still found himself opening it regardless with a "Lloyd? You in here, buddy."

It was silent for a few beats even as he briefly shined the fire in his hand throughout the room, but that's when he heard a voice coming from behind the door.

"I'm right here."

"Oh, thank the master-" Kai muttered as he shut the door enough so he could get down beside Lloyd, the fire in his hand illuminating the dark circles under his eyes in the worst way which subsequently quelled the anger that had been building since Zane had told them he had escaped again, "you scared us."

"I didn't mean to."

"What is going on, Lloyd?" Kai asked, even though he had a guess in mind after the events of the last month, "you've always been a bit of a flight risk, but this is…you've really outdone yourself."

"Can you go ahead and take me back?"

"So you can run off while everyone is sleeping?" He waited for the inevitable scowl, but still reached over and gently rested his hand on Lloyd's knee when it came, "I'm here for you, whenever you're ready to talk."

"Can you…can you please take me back?"

"Yeah," Kai resigned as he stood up before holding out his hand and helping Lloyd to his feet before leading the way back to his room.

"Oh, thank goodness," Nya muttered as she pulled Lloyd into a tight hug, but Kai could tell that Lloyd's heart wasn't in returning it as he lightly squeezed back, "I'm so glad you're okay."

As Nya helped him back into bed, Kai had to stop himself from pulling her away and voicing his concern that maybe, just maybe, this was the thing that had fully broken Lloyd.