Ninjago: Earthly Origins

Chapter 10

Kai

I'm waking up, I can feel it. My eyelids are slowly becoming lighter, easier to lift. With a grunt, I stand. I look to my left; Jay's on the floor, groaning. Huh.

Wait - does this mean that Hypnos is dead? Did we do it?

"Zane?"

I run upstairs, newfound energy filling me. Two flights up, I find Lloyd and Nya, who are waking up too.

"Cole?"

A few flights later, I reach an opening to the roof. A dented metal door lies to the side. I look to my right, and a pile of rocks lay beside... "Pixal! Master Wu!" Pixal is helping Wu up, who is brushing pebbles and dirt from his white tunic.

"Kai?" Wu smiles with joy. "You did it." I ignore and run past him, Pixal, and Zane, who is getting up as well. I see Cole standing at the edge of the building, looking down, and I'm about to hug him and tell him something I've wanted to tell him for a long time.

But something stops me.

There's a sword sticking into his lower back. Hypnos' sword.

No.

"COLE!"

He falls backwards, thankfully, instead of forwards and off of the building. I leap forward, catch him gently, and pull out the sword. Blood pours freely from the wound. "Cole, it's ok, you did it!" I smile through my tears. Cole looks up at me, confused. "Kai?" I smile and laugh, terrified. "Yeah, it's me! You killed Hypnos! You saved Ninjago!" Cole's chocolate brown eyes flutter. "Woah, hey, buddy. Stay with me. Let's talk about something." Anything.

"Okay... *ow* why are you crying?" I lower him gently onto the ground, and wipe my tears, embarrassed. "Because you're my brother! I've been around you for years! We're brothers! And brothers don't leave each other! So... don't leave me!" Cole nods slightly, but his breathing becomes fast and shallow. I hear distant sirens. They have to hurry. Cole's head, which was looking up at me a second ago, flops back against the cement, his eyes closed. "Cole? COLE!" I begin to panic. I shake his shoulders. "Stay with me, Cole! Please..." I sob.

Someone shoves me out of the way, and I start to lunge for them, about to tear them apart, burn them to ash, for getting between me and Cole, but I stop when I see that the person's a paramedic, who's lifting Cole onto a stretcher attached with cords to a hovering helicopter. The paramedic looks at me sadly, as if to say 'I'm sorry for your loss', and the helicopter lifts Cole and the medic away, probably to Ninjago Hospital.

I feel a cold, hard metallic hand on my shoulder, and I jump. But when I turn to see it's just Zane, I relax slightly. Behind Zane stand Lloyd, Nya, Jay, Pixal, and Wu. I run to Nya, who has tears in her eyes, and hug her tightly. I sob, too traumatised to think about how I must look to my friends. Impossibly, she hugs me tighter, and I melt into her embrace. "It's okay," she whispers. "Cole's going to be ok."

We board the Bounty, which Pixal summoned with her remote, wanting to avoid interrogation. As we fly back over Ninjago city and back to the Monastery, I gaze at the hundreds of citizens wandering the streets, dazed and confused. I feel a hand around me, and hear Nya's voice. "Cole saved them. And they're going to get to thank him for it. He'll make it through this - I know he will."

I smile at her, and nod a little. But inside, I'm terrified. If Cole doesn't make it through this, I won't be able to live with myself.

A few hours later, after much tense waiting, we get a call from the hospital saying we can come see Cole. A little of the pressure leaves my chest... Cole made it.

When we arrive at the hospital, I fling open the glass doors, and sprint to the receptionist's desk. "Cole Brookstone!" I pant. He raises an eyebrow at me, but checks his computer.

"Room 504."

Without thanking him, I pelt upstairs and down the hall. 501... 502... 503... here. Behind this door is Cole, who might be waking up right now. A wide grin spreads across my face. I can't contain myself any longer. I push open the door, and there he is. Cole. A big bandage wrapped around his shirtless torso, who is being examined by a doctor. She sees me enter, and exits the room, closing the door behind her.

I walk to the side of Cole's white bed gingerly, taking in the damage. A few stitches on his head, the bandage covering the stab wound, and a sprained ankle. His jet black hair is still ruffled from the fight. His eyes flutter open, and they find mine.

"Kai?" he says weakly. I smile. "Hey."

My lips find his.