ninjago imagines

i'm telling darkness from lines on you

i've had this sitting in my docs for about a few months now... but hopefully ill finish the ending/part two soon. just needed to post somethingggg uggggh writers block
title taken from Wash. (Bon Ivy)

tw: sickness/fainting/blood

___________

The first time Kai notices it, he doesn't think much of it.

It's the end of training and he's swatting a fire down from where it's lit up brightly on a dummy, annoyingly persevering, when Lloyd doubles over suddenly, a gasp of pain twisting from his lips. Cole's at his side in less than a second, patting his back consolingly.

"You okay?" Kai asks across the room, finally squashing the flames away into smoke, and Lloyd nods, expression twisting into a small frown. Bright crimson leaks down his face, and he wipes it away distractedly.

"What happened?" Cole puts in, gaze flicking up the teen to check for injuries, and Lloyd shrugs. "I don't know. Probably just from all that fighting." More blood drips down his chin, the nosebleed persisting heavily, and Kai's already begun to mark it off as another training incident, turning away with a half-nod.

Those were normal. Everyday things they all dealt with. Zane mops Lloyd up, Nya produces an ice pack out of nowhere for him, and Jay cracks a joke about how he's been falling behind practice recently.

Kai wished he'd picked it up then. The flash of wrong that flashed through Lloyd's face, unexplainable pain flowering through his body for a split second.

But he didn't.

The second time, he marks it off as a coincidence. Lloyd lands a sloppy punch in the wrong spot, and green energy pulses from his fist, fizzing dangerously. Jay barely manages to dodge the flash of power, and the blonde hits the cement bricks with a cry.

Kai picks him up, and the blood is already pouring down from his nose this time, a scarring river of scarlet. Lloyd waves it away as an accident, a combination of a few wrong things at once, and so does everyone else.

Because that's all it is, then. Elemental powers go out of control every once in a while, their fighting methods aren't anywhere near perfect, and there are always some small spills in missions.

(When he asks himself later how he didn't catch the signs, he'll know he dod. He sees the green glow a little longer after it's supposed to fade away into nothing, the energy blasts somehow falling away more erratic than usual, handfuls of power struggling to break free under Lloyd's control.)

The third time, they're gathered in a crowd in the middle of the living room, video game controllers clattering in loud chaos. Kai's gaze is focused on the screen, bright figures launching across the screen in a flurry of pixelated explosions.

"Zane, catch up!" Lloyd laughs in delight, watching numbers build up on the flashing screen, and the sound twists into a strangled wheeze as he keels over in pain, coughing. He topples off the couch precariously, and Jay barely manages to hook an arm around him before he hits the ground.

Lloyd looks up dazed as he gasps for air, and lifts a hand to his mouth, looking like he's about to either throw up. His hand comes away dripping red onto the dark couch cushions, and everyone stares in thick silence, too thrown for words.

"Oh." Lloyd says, and then passes out promptly, limp form falling against the shocked lighting ninja.

The room explodes into mild chaos, everyone reeling from the newfound shock of seeing the blonde pass blood. Cole hoists him up carefully in his arms, Kai frantically checking the pulse against his wrist, heart stuttering in fear.

"Come on, wake up—"

Jay sprints out the room, footsteps thudding against the hardwood floor as he disappears in a cloud of buzzing lighting, fueled by panic. Zane's eyes light up white as he runs a scan down Lloyd, looking painfully small in the earth master's hold.

Sensei Wu sweeps into the room a minute later, usual staff abandoned in his hurry. Jay follows slightly behind him, fretting anxiously.

A sudden flash of white, and green energy pours from Lloyd as the lights in the room flicker off, flooding the room in a sickly shade of jade. A yelp escapes Cole as he half drops the teen back onto the couch, pushing his unconscious body back into the cushions before he can tumble off again.

"He's... burning." Cole says slowly, rubbing at his hands with a wince, and Wu frowns, face weary with stress and confusion. Kai lowers a caution hand onto his back, and pulls it back the moment it hits with a pained exhale.

He's burning, and not the gentle lull of the softer amber flames he's used too, but a angry trashing heat, beating brokenly away.

"We must get him to the hospital." Wu says, tone unreadable as he stares at the emerald blaze flitting around the room, unsteady pulses of energy emanating from Lloyd's figure. Kai shrinks back at the sound of the quiet sentence, an uneasy feeling settling into his chest.

Sensei Wu rarely pushes them to go to the hospital, rather preferring to rely on his teas and herbs to fix up the lighter injuries. If he's the one insisting this time, it can't mean anything good.

Lloyd's eyes snap open, vivid light fading away as he gives a choked sob, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What was that?!" Kai demands,

"I am...unsure," Wu says, gaze momentarily lost in thought. "He may be sick. That can mess with elemental powers, as they are a part of you."

"It will be best to bring him to get checked as soon as possible. Energy outbursts as powerful as Lloyd's, could cause some trouble." He finishes hastily, and Kai bites his lip, tasting the metallic scent of iron.

It takes Kai a few seconds to gather the thoughts tumbling around his head, forcing words through the lump in his throat.

"Yeah. I'll bring him."

In the end, it's almost 9am before Kai manages to wheedle Lloyd into the car, the green ninja's dread wavering thin in his consoling promises.

Cold blue washes over the horizon, framing the windshield a dark gray. Kai squints at the road, thundering rain a shield through the road, and yawns. He definitely didn't get enough sleep last night. Barely enough to drive, but Cole and Jay had to rush off for a hostage situation in the morning, and Nya hadn't officially gotten her driving license back yet.

Behind him, Lloyd stirs awake slowly, sitting up sleepily. He looks out the window, wiping away a shaky circle in the misted window as his green gaze peers out into the highway.

"Are we close?" Lloyd asks, pulling his knees up to his chest, and Kai almost misses the question under the sound of the storm rattling through the car. He stares out at the steady wave of water sliding down the glass, wind pushing rebellious droplets up the wrong way.

"Close, buddy. You feeling okay?" Kai tightens his grip around the wheel, trying to shake himself fully awake. The lull of the running engine mixed with the warmth of the car doesn't nothing to help, and he distantly wonders if this was a worse idea than it seemed a few hours ago.

"Mm." Lloyd makes a non committal groan from the backseat, tipping onto his side to lean against the doorway, and closes his eyes again with a sigh. The fire ninja doesn't miss the edge of pain that slips into his voice, green buzzing at the tips of his fingers as static runs though his blonde curls, and swallows hard, pushing harder down on the gas.

The sooner they get to the hospital, the more likely they can fix whatever this is.

And the sooner things will get back to the way they were.

Normal.